Hate, Love, & All of the Above
by Meum Cerebrum Nocet
Summary: This is a story for every guy who has ever tried, every girl who has ever hoped, and anyone who has ever been taken completely by surprise. This is the ten things they hate about each other. Sasusaku/ Shikaino.
1. Chapter 0: Ten Things I Hate About You

**-Hate, Love, & All of the Above-**

_**Summary:**__ This is a story for every guy who has ever tried, every girl who has ever hoped, and anyone who has ever been taken completely by surprise. [Sasusaku/ Shikaino]_

_**A/N:**__ Rewritten to improve plot, characterization, and romance development. Hope you enjoy the changes._

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Prologue-**

**-Ten Things I Hate About You-**

Nara Shikamaru stood outside the glass doors to the office of his newest school, observing the school populace's reflection. He was not unaccustomed to being the new kid at school. In fact, in the past four years he had been to seven different schools in seven different towns; his father had to move around a lot for work and Shikamaru never stayed in one school for more than a few months. It was just a fact of life that he had come to terms with years ago.

The newest school seemed in line with all his previous ones. The teachers would hate a large part of their class and resent their career decision. The school would have the same institutional feel to it. The popular kids would feel just as fake and superficial. The nerds would be just as smart. The weirdo-freaks would be just as strange with the same eclectic interests. There would even be the loner with the greasy hair everyone picked on.

He was expecting the same treatment he had gotten in all previous schools. They would stare at him at first; he was a novelty, a change in the monotony of their high school days. New things always drew attention to them, but that attention was always short-lived. New things were only new for a few months. Once the novelty of his appearance at school wore off, he would fade into the shadows. The students would simply ignore him; he would eventually become just another one of them.

Even when he was still a novelty, nobody ever bothered to get to know him. They were too stuck in their ways to break out and get to know someone else. So when he left the school after only a few months, nobody would miss him because nobody really knew him. It was always the same.

He walked into the principal's office and met the same harassed looking secretary that sat before the principal's office at every school. She was busy filing papers and answering the phone, insuring the school ran smoothly. At first, she didn't even realise he was there. He cleared his throat and the dark-haired woman looked up, a surprised expression colouring her face.

"Can I help you?" she asked sweetly, attempting to not let the stress of organizing a school of nearly three thousand cloud her voice. Shikamaru could still hear it though. He had faced so many similarly harangued secretaries in his schooling life that he knew exactly what to listen for.

"My name is Nara Shikamaru. I just moved to town and today is my first day here at Senju High School," he stated expertly. He had said the same thing so many times before that he knew exactly what to say and how to say it.

"Ah yes. Well Tsunade-sama is busy at the moment. If you wouldn't mind taking a seat just over there, I'll retrieve you when she's ready to see you," she stated, motioning over to the chairs lining the opposite wall. From the way she recited those words, Shikamaru believed she too had committed them to memory as a result of repetitive use.

He moved to sit down in the chair closest to himself, but was nearly bowled over by a dark male who had entered the office. Shikamaru stuttered out an apology, hoping to avoid a confrontation. His apology wasn't acknowledged by the other male in the slightest. But neither was his presence, which was the way Shikamaru preferred it. Being invisible had been the only thing that had made a nomadic lifestyle bearable. Had he formed any attachments at his previous schools, he would have surely gone insane.

The dark male continued on to the secretary's desk. He leaned on his arm and quirked an eyebrow suggestively.

"Shizune, aren't you looking fine today," he schmoozed the dark-haired women. She rolled her eyes at his antics, but Shikamaru was able to make out an amused smirk that momentarily crossed her face.

"Uchiha Sasuke, welcome back. Enjoy the break? We here on staff certainly missed you. My days were empty without your daily visits." Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle to himself at the sarcasm that filled her voice with her statements. Whoever this dark clad boy was, he obviously wasn't very well liked at school, at least not by the staff.

A moment later, a blonde woman emerged from the room behind the secretary's desk and scanned the main office. Her eyes came to rest on the boy named Uchiha Sasuke and a scowl crossed her face.

"So you're back are you?" she questioned, her voice full of unconstrained contempt, "Hope you didn't screw it up this time." She then turned to Shikamaru, silently observing this odd interaction and motioned for him to follow her.

Once he was inside and seated at a chair in front of a large mahogany desk, the principal closed the door and went to sit in front of him.

"Welcome to Senju High School, Nara-san. I'm the principal of this school, Tsunade. If you have any questions or problems, your guidance councillor would love to hear about it. I deal with academic issues only. I do not need to hear about your petty, personal problems. Got it? Enjoy your time here and I hope to never see you again. No matter what some of the students say, this is a truly wonderful school."

Her words momentarily stunned Shikamaru. He hadn't expected that the principal would say something so crass and straightforward. He then quickly regained himself and stood to leave. Just as he reached the door, Tsunade called out to him.

"Send the deadbeat in, would ya?"

He nodded and, when he got back into the main office, told Sasuke the principal wanted him. Shikamaru then made his way over to the secretary and picked up all of his required papers.

The bell signalling the beginning of classes rang and Shizune gave him a look that suggested he should get moving to class.

He pulled out his schedule and the map and tried to find his English class. In the process, the books and papers he was holding under his arms slipped and spilled out on the floor. He swore under his breath, internally commenting on how sucky this day was turning out.

He reached for the papers that had spread all over the floor only to find someone else had dropped to their knees to help him. He followed the arm up to the face of a slightly podgy, light mahogany haired boy. The boy smiled a friendly smiled and stuck out his hand to give Shikamaru back his fallen papers.

"Hey, I'm Chouji. I haven't seen you around school before. Are you new here?" he asked, standing up and dusting off his jeans.

"Yeah, I'm new. I moved here from Sunagakure. It was a lot drier there. I'm Shikamaru, by the way," he replied awkwardly. In all his previous schools, he had never really talked to anyone for anything other than schoolwork. He wasn't sure where he should take this conversation, but was thankfully saved from that by the better conversational skills that Chouji possessed.

"What's your first class? That map is ancient. I can show you where your class is a lot better than it can." Shikamaru thought about his proposal. He had avoided interpersonal contact outside of academia to not be hurt when he inevitably had to move. But at the same time, he wanted to make friends and not just be alone for once.

"English, and your directions would be a great help."

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke stood outside the school, staring up at the front doors. He hadn't walked through those doors in a year, not since he'd gotten himself suspended. He'd snuck up to the roof the evening of the first Friday back from school and began hosting a concert. Slowly a crowd had congregated on the football field below the roof. However, before it could get any larger than a small group of people, Tsunade had appeared on the roof and shut it all down.<p>

He had thought the rumour of his exploits would spread throughout the school with a vengeance. It seemed, however, that his absence had spawned a myriad of rumours. There were eventually so many that even those who had been at his impromptu concert weren't sure which one was the truth.

He walked into Tsunade's office, his second home for the past few years, thinking to himself how good it felt being back. As Sasuke took a seat in front of the principal's desk, he thought about the sheer number of times he had been there before. In fact, Sasuke nearly spent more time in the office than in class, and not just because he skipped most of his classes.

"Well, well, well, you've come crawling back to us, have you? I hope you've changed in your year off and won't pull the same stupid stunts you did last year." Tsunade remarked from the other side of her desk, her hands crossed in front of her face so only her shimmering blue eyes could be seen. It was a look meant to strike fear into the heart of every student who sat across from it. But Sasuke had been on the receiving end of that look so many times that it no longer had any affect on him.

"I missed your dazzling smile and quick fire wit. I just couldn't stay away," he stated, the sarcasm dripping through his voice and forming a puddle on the floor in front of him.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and then motioned to the door.

"Out! And make a note to not see me twice a day this year, Uchiha-san. I don't appreciate our visits as much as you do." Sasuke stood, bowed slightly to the blonde, and then sauntered out of the office, his ever-present smirk on his face.

It sure was good to be back.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino skipped into school, a happy-go-lucky smile on her face. She loved school because everyone in school loved her. Every single day she was bombarded with requests for lunch, study partners, or simply to hang out. People were always coming up to her just to say hi, or just be near her. Everyone loved her and she loved being adored. For Ino, high school was perfect.<p>

She walked up to her friend, a dark-haired, blue-eyed, skinny girl by the name of Ami. Ami was standing next to her locker, looking confused and completely lost. She may have been the blonde's best friend since they were in kindergarten, but she was duller than Ino's favourite pencil. The only reasons she kept Ami around were because she was as popular as Ino, an excellent gossip, and made Ino feel like a Mensa member.

"Hey, Ino, have you seen my bio textbook?" she asked, a look of absolute confusion gracing her flawless face. "I can't seem to find it anywhere." Ino sighed under her breath and reached into the locker, pulling out the bright green textbook that was right in her field of vision.

"Right here, Mi," Ino stated simply, handing it over to her friend and trying not to let the look of distaste show. Ino needed people to like her. If they didn't, she felt insecure and out of control. Ino needed to be in control. So she put up with her friends idiocy and tried her best to not show how much it annoyed her.

"Silly me!" Ami giggled her freakishly high-pitched giggle before closing her locker and turning to her friend. "So, you excited for school this year? We're finally seniors! Queens of the school! Everyone will look up to us and want to be us! It's going to be so fantastic!"

Ino smiled and nodded, trying to remember all the reasons she kept Ami around as her friend. Luckily, more of her friends showed up at that moment and Ino was able to talk with those who were slightly more intelligent than Ami. She only had one more year of putting up with Ami before she was free.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura sat in her car, her feet resting atop the dashboard. Music blared loudly out of her car speakers. Sitting in the passenger seat, looking bored and frustrated, was Sakura's best friend, Tenten. She knew her friend found this stupid waiting game annoying and pointless, but Sakura still felt the need to sit in her car for half an hour before class.<p>

Over the years she had carefully constructed a rebellious, uncaring persona. She showed up late to class to keep up appearances, no matter how much her friend complained. If she ever showed up for a class on time, her painstakingly fashioned persona would crumble.

And so, Sakura spent the first thirty minutes of every class sitting out in her car with her best friend. It was a tradition now set in stone.

"And that's 9:00. Time for class," her friend Tenten said. Sakura chuckled at her friend. It was tradition to wait out in the car, but Tenten really disliked just sitting in the car. The brunette found it boring, but Sakura had insisted. If they were to simply wait at home, her father would definitely find out about her habit and he'd go ballistic. It was only by waiting in the car, and answering any and all school phone calls that she was able to avoid the wrath of her father.

Sakura got out of the car and walked into the school behind her friend, imaging what the new school year would have in store for her.

_-To be continued_

_**A/N: **__A little more characterization than before. Hope you enjoyed the changes. Drop me a review to let me know what you thought!_


	2. Chapter 1: Your Strict Father

**-Hate, Love, & All of the Above-**

_**A/N: **__Rewrite of chapter number two, changed the order slightly and added more characterization._

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter One-**

**-Your Strict Father-**

Sarutobi Ino sat in her first period English class, impatiently awaiting the arrival of her perpetually late teacher. If she wasn't so worried about what other people thought of her, she would have spent the first half of each English class doing something more entertaining or productive.

AS she sat in her desk, Sai walked into her field of vision. Sai was the most popular boy in school, and every girl, Ino included, wanted to be with him. He had silky black hair, smoldering dark eyes, and the body of a god. All he had to do was walk past a girl and her knees would collapse and she would loose the ability to think. There was just one thing stopping Ino from fully pursing her crush.

Her father's stupid dating rule.

Her father had instated his stupid dating rule at the start of freshman year. Ino had come home and talked non-stop for nearly three houses about a cute boy in her pre-calculus class and her father had flipped out. He had always been over-bearing and over-protective, but this was much too far for Ino's liking.

He had screamed and yelled and told Ino she was far too young to be thinking about boys in that way. She had countered with the fact that everyone she knew was dating and that was when her father had set his rule.

Ino could date, when Sakura did. And her sister was a shrew who would never date.

* * *

><p>Akimichi Chouji walked through the front doors of the school, with every intention of making this last year special and different than all the previous years. He would no longer be content with living in the shadows. He would find something that would make this year spectacular.<p>

Just then, a brown haired boy walked out of the office and spilled his books and papers all over the floor. It was almost as if the universe was giving him a sign. He gathered his courage and walked towards the boy.

Chouji had never had many friends. Being on the pudgy side, many kids chose to bully him over befriend him. As a result, he had grown into a shy teenager who normally kept to himself. He didn't talk to people unless it was absolutely necessary.

But as he bent down to aid the brown haired male, he kept his resolve to change in mind. This year was going to be different.

"What's your first class? That map is ancient; I can show you where your class is a lot better than it can!"

"It's English, and your directions would be great."

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura walked into her first period English class and inwardly groaned. It was just her luck that her first period class on the first day of school was taught by none other than the perpetually late Hatake Kakashi. She had been purposefully late for nothing. She turned to her friend Tenten, who had a smug look on her face.<p>

Tenten had been telling her every single year since they had started coming in late that it was pointless to be late. This year, she just happened to be right. Sakura could just hear the 'I told you so' that Tenten was containing for fear of being beheaded by Sakura's wit. Sakura rolled her eyes at her friends' expression and walked into class taking one of the four empty seats at the back.

A quick scan of the room showed that Sakura's twin sister Ino was sitting at the front of the room, talking animatedly to one her legions of conformist lackeys. Sakura had a hard time considering any of the people Ino associated with as her friends. The only common interest they shared was an insatiable need to be liked by the masses. It was definitely not enough to build a friendship on in Sakura's (anything but) humble opinion.

She turned her attention back to Tenten who had begun making small wads of paper. Sakura loved her friend dearly but found her penchant for spitballs disgusting. She averted her attention from the gross habit of her friend, back to the door.

Thirty-five minutes after the class bell had rung, Kakashi graced the class with an appearance. He walked in like he hadn't kept them waiting for nearly half the period and took his place at the front of the class.

"Welcome to your final year of high school. Now I know people have been telling you this for years, but this is a truly important year. If you don't pay attention or put in the work, you will most likely fail. This class may seem like a waste of time, but not coming or coming in late-"

The typical welcome to school rant was cut short by the untimely arrival of two black clad teenage boys. They stood in the door for a moment, eyeing the two seats at the back.

"Uchiha, Hyuuga, thank you for joining us today. Now, are you in or out, because I could care less?" Kaskashi fixed then with a hard stare that said they didn't really have a choice and he did actually care. The two boys turned to each other, ignoring the stare. There was a moment of silence in which the two seemed to communicate telepathically before they shrugged and walked into class. The boy with short raven hair took the seat beside Sakura and looked over at her.

"So, what'd I miss?" he asked her. Sakura gave him a reproachful look before turning back and pretending to pay attention to what Kakashi was talking about. She found it very hard to take the silver haired man seriously. He seemed to pay about as much worth towards school and attending classes as she did. Yet here he was, lecturing the class about the importance of doing the work and putting in the effort. If there was one thing Sakura couldn't stand (okay, there were quite a few things), it was a hypocrite.

Kakashi had just begun handing out that semester's syllabus when the bell rand and the four punk students sitting at the back of the room stood up in a hurry and left, even before the handouts reached them. It wasn't as if they would be attending enough classes to care about what each day would be like.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke walked out of the principal's office and headed towards a row of lockers decorated with rock and indie band stickers and graffiti. At one point, the school had tried to clean up the lockers, but they were quickly returned to their vandalized state. Sasuke was headed to a particular locker peppered with several different band stickers. Standing to the side was a boy with long dark brown hair and clad entirely in black.<p>

"Welcome back to hell, Uchiha," the brown haired male monotoned once Sasuke was in earshot.

"Glad to be back, Hyuuga. Once more year here and I plan to go out with a bang," Sasuke responded. He opened the sticker-covered locker and grabbed a few books. He thrust them into his bag and turned to his friend. "Smoke?" he asked. His friend nodded and they headed out towards the backfield.

They spent a half an hour outside smoking and catching up on the past few months before deciding to make an appearance at class. They walked through the deserted hallways in silence; neither felt the need for small talk.

"This class may seem like a waste of time," the voice of their English teacher floated out into the empty halls, "but not coming or coming in late-" The speech stopped as the two dark clad teenagers entered the classroom.

"Uchiha, Hyuuga, thank you for joining us today. Now, are you in or out, because I could care less?" the silver haired man inquired. After silently agreeing to attend this class, the two walked towards the empty desks at the back. Sasuke turned to the person sitting next to him, a girl with surprising pink hair. A smile crossed his face; there was something about this girl that intrigued him.

"So, what'd I miss?" he asked to cover up his staring. She gave him a look that told him to leave her alone in a very rude manner and turned back to the lecture.

Sasuke turned to look at the front, the smile returned to his face. Something in him told him this girl would be the one helping him go out with a bang.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino sighed as Kakashi handed her two extra syllabuses to give to her sister and her sister's friend. When Sakura and Tenten had hurriedly left, Ino wound up collecting the paperwork for them. She didn't get why she was forced to be a letter carrier for someone who didn't even want the package in the first place!<p>

Ino really hated her sister sometimes. Her attitude just ruined everything good. When they were twelve, and their mother was still alive, she had taken them bowling for an afternoon. It had started out as a great bonding exercise for the female Sarutobis, but Sakura's attitude had soon reared its ugly head and ruined the day. She had begun criticizing every move Ino made and eventually, the blonde couldn't stand it anymore.

Sakura had always been hypercritical even though the rosette was nowhere near perfect herself. Ino had no idea what had given Sakura the authority to be the ruling body on what was right. But, whatever divine right had bestowed this power on her sister, no one could say she never used it. Sakura could barely get through the day without making some snarky comment about her peers and the like.

"Earth to Ino," Ami called as she waved her hand in front of the blonde's face. Ino was pulled from her musings about her sister to find she had exited Kakashi's class and made her way out to the courtyard. The courtyard was the exclusive area, where the whose who of the school met during their free period.

Ino zoned into the conversation long enough to hear that Ami and her equals (the stupider of the 'pretty people') were talking about their split ends and the various hair care products they needed to fix them. Ino may have been popular, but she went deeper than skin tone and complexion. She cared about politics, world issues, and current events. She began people watching to avoid loosing IQ points. However, her gaze didn't go much further than the group of boys directly across from her.

Standing, talking to his friends, and looking effortlessly sexy was none other than Sai, the most popular boy in school. Ino's breath caught in her throat. Early that day, while she had been impatiently waiting for Kakashi to appear, her friends had relayed the latest rumour mill information. The most intriguing and important piece of information was about the latest object of Sai's affection. If the rumour mill was spewing out some truth, Sai had been paying special attention to her. All of her friends had been pointing out the way his eyes followed her at the beach or the fact that he only seemed to talk to her at parties.

A scarlet blush crossed her pale cheeks as Sai looked up from his group of friends and made eye contact with her. He gave her a flirty smile and excused himself from his friends. He sauntered over to Ino, standing less than two feet from her, a very personal distance. If Ino had been anything but her confident self, she was sure that his very presence would have turned her into a babbling pool of mush.

"Hey, Ino, that dress looks fantastic on you. Nobody else could pull it off like you," he flirted, his eyes raking over her body. Ino was very confident with her looks and didn't mind the appreciative appraisal. The two bantered and flirted back and forth for nearly the entire free period before the bell rang and they were forced to pull apart.

Ino spent the rest of the day in a daze. She had never had such a flirtatious encounter with Sai and she had enjoyed it immensely. She desperately wanted to spend more time with him, to extend their flirtatious encounters into something more if only she could get around her father's stupid rule.

-_To be continued-_

_**A/N: **__This chapter was changed a fair amount. I never liked the way I introduced the rule; it felt disconnected. Ino and Shikamaru will meet next chapter; it flowed better this way. Let me know your thoughts in a review!_


	3. Chapter 2: Your Obviously Flawed Plan

**-Hate, Love, & All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Two-**

**-Your Obviously Flawed Plan-**

Nara Shikamaru sat in the library, patiently awaiting his newest tutoring subject. He had been at his new school for three weeks now and had started to form a routine and find his place within the student body. A part of that routine, involved in all his previous schools, was tutoring. It was his mother's idea. She figured that if he helped other students with their studies, he could get extra credit and possibly improve his own marks.

As his mind wandered back to previous tutoring experiences, a beautiful blonde sauntered in to the library. Her fingers expertly flew across the screen of a purple-cased iPhone. She walked with a confidence that exuded from her like a lighthouse beacon. Shikamaru felt compelled to watch her progress.

She walked across the library and sat down at the table he was at, in a chair across from him. Shikamaru couldn't believe his luck!

"Hey! I'm Ino!" she happily exclaimed, shoving her phone into her pocket and turning to look at him. She had stunning blue eyes, he noticed, that swam with an inexplicable joi-de-vivre that mesmerised him. As she stared at Shikamaru, awaiting his response, he found his mind completely wiped. He stared at her for a moment, fighting and grappling for words and sentences so he could stop looking like such an idiot.

He looked down and saw the math book before him. Instantly, words about procedures for finding derivatives and asymptotes began spilling out of his mouth. He was positive Ino wasn't following his quick pace, but he couldn't seem to slow down. After what felt like hours of mindless blabbing, Ino finally spoke up and stopped him.

"Ummm, I'm like really far behind in math so I have no idea what you just said. Think we could start at the beginning and work from there?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. Shikamaru nodded and turned to the beginning of the textbook, and started talking about the more basic math.

Eventually, Shikamaru began to feel less and less nervous as they delved further into such a comfortable subject matter for him. He didn't excel at interpersonal interactions, especially those of the opposite sex. However, put him in any academic situation and he could discuss it at length with whoever was nearby. It was like his natural habitat and it didn't matter if there was an extremely gorgeous girl sitting across from him, her low cut shirt slipping ever lower. Nothing could freeze him up or take the words from his mouth.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the period, though Shikamaru felt as if no time had passed at all. Ino quickly jumped up and packed up her books and papers. She was turning to leave, obviously in a hurry to leave, when a never-before-experienced confidence overtook him. Before he knew it, he was blurting out a date invite. Ino looked at him for a moment before an apprehensive smile crossed her face.

"I think it's totally cute that you asked me out, and I would so be up to going to a movie or something, expect for one little thing. My dad has this outrageously unfair rule that I can only date when my sister does. And that's a huge problem because no one wants to…" Ino trailed off; a plotting smile crossed her face, "but I'm sure someone as smart as you could totally find her a date! Then I'd be able to date whoever I wanted!"

"Yeah, I'm sure I could come up with something. Then we could go see a movie and maybe get some dinner-" Shikamaru began planning, an excited smile crossing his face.

"That's great!" Ino cut in, "just let me know when you find someone 'kay!" Ino then walked out of the library, leaving a stunned Shikamaru in her wake. It couldn't be that hard to find someone to go out with her sister; they shared the same genes after all. She couldn't be that bad… could she?

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura walked onto the soccer field, lazily dropping her bag onto the players' bench, not caring that it slipped off and spilled its contents on the grass. She then slowly made her way onto the pitch to join the rest of her team, who were gathered around the goalpost. She began stretching beside Tenten and only half listened to the coach rip her a new one about being nearly ten minutes late for practice.<p>

Sakura wasn't really big on organized anything or being part of a team. She enjoyed her independence and individuality and she felt teams stifled that. However, Tenten had an insatiable love of the sport and convinced Sakura to try out for the team with her. That, and her anger management therapist (who she was seeing after kicking a boy in the balls so hard that they almost ended up back inside him) suggested that it would be a healthy way for her to relieve some of her pent up anger.

Practice began with the normal drills. The girls ran from one goal line to another, dribbled the ball along the perimeter of the pitch, and practiced shooting goals. The last part was Sakura's favourite. She got to hit other people with inanimate objects and no one could tell her off for it. The girls' soccer goalie was fearless and took each ball Sakura kicked with amazing grace.

On her first shot, Sakura took a running start at the ball and sent it flying through the air at wicked speed. The goalie jumped up to catch it and was winded as it collided with her chest. Both met each other at the goal line, smiling as the goalie returned the ball to Sakura.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru sat with Chouji, in the stands overlooking the soccer pitch, completely taken aback by what he had just witnessed. He hadn't believed Chouji when Chouji had said that Sakura was a terrible shrew that no one in his right mind would want to date. He had asked for proof and had definitely just gotten it.<p>

The two left before the rosette was able to draw blood and began discussing their options. Even after the display he had just seen, Shikamaru had not given up on his plan. He really wanted to go out with Ino and if that meant finding someone completely out of his mind, Shikamaru was going to make it happen.

Shikamaru and Chouji parted ways at the doors to the school, both promising to scour the student body and report back at the end of the day with prospects. Though Shikamaru wasn't sure how successful either would be at their quest.

* * *

><p>Akimichi Chouji walked across the soccer pitch at lunchtime, heading towards the parking lot to buy lunch at the nearby fast food joint. He had to walk around the perimeter of the field because the boys' soccer team currently occupied it. As he was crossing in front of the bleachers, two very unlikely spectators caught his attention. Sitting on the bottom row and lighting up a pair of cigarettes were Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji. The two were know for their cold demeanours, I-could-care-less attitudes, and near constant flouting of the rules.<p>

He watched as the boys' team began practice and the two punks began to heckle. They tore into the players self esteem with every syllable, commenting on each player's every move. Chouji couldn't believe they were deriving pleasure from the pain of others, though he knew he really shouldn't be that surprised.

And then it hit him.

The smile that crossed the raven-haired teen's face with every pain-inducing word he spoke mirrored the smile Sakura had worn that morning. Chouji had found the one man so out of his mind that Sakura seemed almost normal. Now, all he had to do was ask the vicious teen to go along with his plan. Chouji knew he'd never be able to ask; he needed someone with no fear of the punk. And so began yet another possibly fruitless search.

* * *

><p>Inchiki Sai smirked as he pulled on his jeans and clasped the button. His latest tryst had definitely been one of the better ones. She certainly was one of the best he'd ever had. Her body, her sounds, her movements, everything had been perfect. He had rarely felt this good afterwards.<p>

And now that it was over, he could finally check her off his list and continue on with his other conquests. He never tied himself to just one girl. There were simply too many amazing people out there willing to do whatever they could just to spend a minute of time with him. Why would he stick to one girl when there was a figurative ocean of them? It just didn't make sense.

As he left the curvy brunette he had spent his free period with, all thoughts drifted to the next girl he had his eye on. Sarutobi Ino would definitely be worth the effort.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru had been secretly and stealthily observing the punks Chouji had brought to his attention. The goal of his observations had been to find something that could be used to persuade Sasuke to go along with the plan. He hadn't come up with much so by the end of the day, he and Chouji were nowhere closer to a solution.<p>

They were just discussing how they could get Sasuke to agree to their plan when Sai pulled out of a parking spot only a few feet in front of them and nearly ploughed the two over. He looked over his shoulder at Shikamaru and Chouji who were standing inches from the shiny bumper of his car.

"Hey, don't get too close to this car. You tools wouldn't be able to afford the mirrors if you worked every day of your pathetic lives." The boy sitting beside Sai laughed and the two took off, speeding through the parking lot and onto the road.

"Ass," Chouji muttered under his breath. Shikamaru only barely comprehended the insult; he was already in full planning mode.

What was the one thing that people would kill for? What was so previous that everyone worked themselves to exhaustions just to have a small amount? What made the society they lived in function? The answer to all those questions: money. Money was the single most important thing to most members of society. Surely Sasuke would go out with a girl he didn't even know for the right price.

But Sai was right. Neither he nor Chouji had enough money to make that happen. But Shikamaru had a way around that. There was someone at school that had a near endless supply of cash. Someone who wasn't all that smart and easily manipulated.

Sai would be their backer.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino walked down the street by her school. It was a relatively nice day so walking wasn't too much of an issue. It wasn't until winter hit and the temperature dropped that Ino really wished her father wasn't crazy overprotective. He had forbidden the ownership of an automobile or even a license to drive an automobile. Sakura had blazed passed that rule like she normally did and bought a car. She stored it at Tenten's so her father wouldn't know and paid all the bills on it herself. All her sister that to do on cold days was walk a few blocks and then be warmed by the heater in her car.<p>

Ino had originally thought about going behind her father's back but the doubt had almost instantly began to grip her. What if her father found out? Sakura didn't care what their father thought, but for Ino who needed to be liked, having her father disappointed in her was too much to bare. Instead, Ino walked to school when it was nice out and took three busses and a train to get to school when it was cold.

She really hated her father sometimes.

As Ino walked down the hill from school, a blaring rap beat interrupted her up-beat pop music. She looked towards the road and her heart skipped a beat. Sai had pulled his expensive red Porsche up beside her and rolled down the window.

He wanted to talk to her! Outside of school!

She walked over to the car winder and leaned in, doing her best impression of a hooker.

"Hey stranger," she purred, "what can I do for you?" Sai smirked at her act.

"I'm looking for a good time. You up for it?" Ino laughed as she opened the back door and slid into the seat behind Sai's friend. "So we're going to Fry-days, you wanna come? If not, I guess I could drive you home." Sai phrased his questions in a way that made it clear the latter option was not the preferred one. Ino's father didn't like her going out after school, especially not with boys. On the other hand, Sai, the boy she was head-over-heels for, was asking her to hang out with him. She took a moment to consider the consequences of each response before answering.

"I'm totally in!"

* * *

><p>Inchiki Sai prided himself on being above the common masses. He was more attractive than most of the males at school. He had more money than nearly the entire populace. He was the most athletic person in the student body. He was far better than the ordinary. Because he was so much better than everyone else, he didn't interact with the common population. It would drag him down.<p>

He kept the unpopulars away with a cold stare and a whispered comment followed by snide laughter. It worked every time some loser tried to approach him. That is, every time except right now. He had just made a comment about the waist size of the boy walking towards him and was met with uproarious laughter by his gang. Yet the boy kept coming. What was wrong with this kid? Sai had to admit he had balls. Maybe he'd bear him out simply because he hadn't run away frying.

With a wave of his hand, Sai sent his gang away and waited for the rotund boy to reach him.

"Hello Sai, I've got a proposition for you."

Sai liked this kid. He got straight to the point. He didn't bother introducing himself, didn't bother bullshitting him with false compliments. Though Sai wouldn't have been upset with a little ass kissing.

"I'm listening," Sai replied, surveying the boy in front of him, trying to discern what this pig wanted.

"I have a plan that would allow you to date Sarutobi Ino."

-_To be continued-_

_**A/N: **__So I know, as of this chapter, most changes have been small addition for more description, small changes in chapter content, and small point of view changes. I have large plot changes coming up though so be prepared. _

_Review and tell me what you thought!_


	4. Chapter 3: Your OutofLeftField Advances

**-Hate, Love, & All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Three-**

**-Your Out-of-Left-Field Advances-**

Akimichi Chouji stood his ground as he approached Sai. He could see the typical Sai reaction to approaching human beings; Sai glared him down, whispered to his goonies, and laughed. Normally, that alone would have been enough to send Chouji running for the hills. This time, however, Chouji had a new found confidence. It seemed to stem from Shikamaru's plan.

"Hello Sai, I've got a proposition for you," Chouji stated simply. He'd gone over what he'd say a million times and decided that saying as little as possibly, and getting right to the point, would be best. Sai seemed to agree.

"I'm listening."

"I have a plan that would allow you to date Sarutobi Ino."

Chouji could see the interest in Sai's eyes. He knew he had him hooked. Now all he needed to do was carefully reel him in. One false move could mean scaring away an integral piece of their plan.

"Are you aware that Ino can't date unless her sister is as well?" Chouji let that statement hang in the air and observed Sai's face. For a moment, a look of panic crossed his face; then he quickly got it under control and an expressionless façade returned. "Don't worry though, I've found the perfect guy to go out with Sakura."

Sai snorted.

"He a nutcase? 'Cuz they're the only people who'd go out with such a freak."

"Not a nutcase. Just someone who'll do it for a strong enough incentive." Chouji thought Sai would catch on to what he meant, but the thin, dark-haired male stared back blankly.

"We'll need to pay him to go out with her," Chouji stated, starting to doubt how successful the plan would be. Sai seemed a few eggs short of a dozen.

"Money I've got. Who we giving it to?" he asked, moving in closer now that talk was turning more serious.

"Do you know Uchiha Sasuke?" Chouji asked apprehensively. This was the part he was most unsure about. Uchiha Sasuke was well known throughout the school, and not for good reasons. Multiple rumours raced through the halls about his illicit, illegal, and insane exploits. He might not be the best person to put your trust in, or give money to, but he was all they had.

"The criminal who spent the last year in jail for stabbing a dude outside the Quickie Mart?" Sai questioned, identifying the boy by one of the many rumours that surrounded his mysterious absence last year. Chouji nodded. "Sounds perfect. I just have one question for you. I want Ino, what do you want?"

"When I'm walking down the hall and I say hey…"

"I say hey back. Cool by association. As long as that's all you're asking for, we've got a deal." The two shook hands, sealing their pact.

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Neji was sitting on the bleachers, watching the girls' soccer practice and awaiting the arrival of his perpetually tardy friend. Neji had gotten so used to Sasuke's constant lateness that he often told him to meet an hour before he actually wanted to see his friend. Today, he had only given Sasuke an extra ten minutes.<p>

As he waited, he watched the practice. Unlike with the boys' soccer team, Neji wasn't going to make fun of the girls. For one, there was no real fun in making a girl cry. It was just cruel. When a boy who was supposed to be macho and strong broke out into tears, it was hilarious. When a girl cried, it made you feel all guilty for being such an ass.

The other reason he wasn't going to tear into the self-esteem of this particular sporting team was that a girl had caught his eye. If he began insulting her teammates, he knew he'd ruin his chances with her. No girl would dare go out with a guy who had made fun of her friends. There was a solidarity within the female sex that didn't allow for such behavior.

Another ten minutes of waiting and Sasuke finally appeared. He sauntered across the field, not even caring that there was a practice going on around him. A credit to the girls, they did an excellent job at avoiding him. As Sasuke got closer, Neji put out his cigarette on the bottom of the bleachers.

"Let's blow!" Sasuke called from the bottom of the bleachers. Sasuke didn't wait for a response from Neji. Instead, he turned to leave and almost ran into a short, skinny kid. The Uchiha did a slight little jump-avoid-maneuver to not hit the kid. Once he had righted himself, the raven haired punk opened his mouth to tell of the shrimp when he was cut off.

"I have a proposition for you," the other dark haired male began. The rest of the conversation was lost to Neji by the sound of his phone ringing. He looked at the caller id and swore under his breath. His uncle was calling him; he was the last person Neji ever wanted to talk to. However, ignoring a phone call from Hyuuga Hiashi would be more pain than answering it.

When Neji finished his conversation with his uncle (a reminder of the upcoming annual Hyuuga function) he turned to see his friend. Sasuke had a plotting grin on his face; nothing good ever came from that look.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke walked across the soccer field, ignoring the practice going on around him. He knew he was late to meet his friend; he was always late. It gave him an I-don't-care-attitude that he worked very hard to maintain. He often felt guilt for making his friend wait, but tardiness was an integral part of his character.<p>

"Let's blow," he called, when he reached the bottom of the bleachers. He then quickly turned and nearly collided with a short, skinny man standing directly behind him. He was about to tell him off when the short man had the nerve to interrupt him.

"I have a proposition for you." His voice was nasally and extremely pretentious that it grated on Sasuke's every nerve. However, his interest was peaked and he decided to hear him out. Sasuke quirked his eyebrow up to show his interest. Something told him this guy didn't do subtle.

"I'll pay you fifty dollars," the other male paused and quickly looked over his shoulder, insuring they weren't being overheard, "to take out Sartuobi Sakura."

"Who?" Sasuke asked. Truth be told, he knew nearly no one at school. He didn't care to get to know them. Having Neji as a friend was enough for Sasuke.

"Her," the other boy answered, glancing towards the soccer field and pointing to a girl with bright pink hair. Sasuke recognized her as the girl he had sat next to in English on the first day of school, the only time he'd even bothered to show up. She had interested him, a kindred spirit of sorts.

"I'll do it for four hundred a date," Sasuke countered. In all honesty, he'd have done it for a lot less. The other male didn't know that though. He'd try to get as much out of this scrawny, slimy kid as he could.

"Two hundred and that's my final offer."

"You've got a deal."

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru closed his locker door and began walking to his advanced calculus class. Halfway down the hallway, he caught sight of a shock of blonde hair in a high ponytail. He quickened his pace to catch up to her; for once she was without her normal group of friends.<p>

"Ino, hey!" he called. Ino stopped and looked around before spotting him. A small, friendly smile crossed her face.

"Shikamaru, right?" she inquired, shifting a pile of heavy books in her arms.

"Here, let me take those," Shikamaru offered, taking the books from her. Her smile widened slightly at his kind, albeit cliché, gesture. Shikamaru then motioned for Ino to lead the way, and the two began walking down the hall. Shikamaru was trying to figure out what to say when Ino beat him to it.

"Any progress on my sister… problem?" she asked, obviously trying to be discrete in such a public place. Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat. She wanted to know how he was coming along with his plan! Maybe because she really wanted to go out with him soon.

"I've got a guy in mind. Just trying to convince him to ask her out. I was thinking, once he does, we could go see a movie. What do you think?" Ino took a moment to respond.

"I think I should wait a while before dating. You know, so my dad doesn't get suspicious," she replied, her smile slipping slightly as she spoke. Shikamaru attributed it to her displeasure over having to wait because of her over-protective father.

"Oh, yeah. Of course," Shikamaru stuttered in response. They walked a little further down the hall, and then Ino placed her hand on his arm, stopping him.

"This is my classroom. Thanks for carrying my books," she stated with a pleasant smile. She then took her books back and turned into the classroom.

The encounter may have been brief, but Shikamaru felt like he was on cloud nine. He was feeling so good that he didn't hear the bell ring and was late for his class. Ino had made him late, the first time he had ever been late. Yet he didn't feel upset or angry. He was much too happy for that.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke leaned against the hood of his car, a black 1969 Camaro. He was observing a certain rosette at her car across the parking lot. He'd been following her, observing her every move and action, for the past few days. He'd been trying to find something he could use to get her to agree to go out with him. He knew from his brief encounter with her that she wouldn't easily succumb to his charms. He needed an in, a small piece of information that would allow him to get past her exterior wall.<p>

So far, he'd come up empty.

As he watched, her and her brunette friend got into the car and drove off. Sasuke was about to get in his car and follow them when Neji approached him. His friend was completely against this, and had made his opinions perfectly clear to the black-haired male.

"You keep this up, you'll turn into her stalker," Neji deadpanned as he came to lean against Sasuke's car as well.

"I'm doing reconnaissance, Hyuuga, not stalking."

"Thin line, Uchiha. One small nudge and you're over it." Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friend, but didn't say anything. On some level, Sasuke knew his friend was right. He'd started to feel slightly stalker-ish himself.

"Give me two more days, then I'll drop it." Neji quirked an eyebrow in surprise, obviously not believing Sasuke's statement.

"And the money?" Neji inquired.

"I'm going to keep it, for all my efforts. The shorty may think he's all that, but he's got a few screws loose. He wouldn't be able to get it from me even if he tried his hardest. He is nothing."

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino walked out of her third period chemistry class, her large stack of books slipping from her reach. A few steps out of the classroom, they sprawled to the floor. She swore under her breath and bent down to collect them. As she was on her knees, a pair of expensive running shoes came into her line of sight. She looked up and smiled.<p>

"Hey," Sai stated, nonchalantly, his hands firmly in his pockets. He made no attempt to aid her in collecting her books and once she stood up with them in her arms, he didn't offer to carry them for her. She was a little perturbed by it, and momentarily thought back to earlier that week when Shikamaru had carried them. She pushed the memory away. Just because Sai hadn't offered didn't mean anything. It was way to cliché anyway.

"Hey, Sai. Any plans for the weekend?" she asked, hoping he'd say he didn't have a date so she wouldn't feel bad.

"The guys and I are doing some things," Sai said, being purposefully vague. It upset Ino a little, but she didn't push him. If she came across as too pushy, he'd lose interest in her extremely fast.

"You're always welcome to join," he said, moving a little closer to her and racking his eyes over her form.

"I'll see what I can do, but my father is crazy uptight." The two of them continued down the hall, throwing out flirtatious comments in between idle chitchat. Ino found talking to Sai almost as easy as breathing. She was sad when they arrived at her next classroom and had to say goodbye.

"See ya later," he spoke softly into her ear before turning and making his way back into the crowded hallway. Shikamaru had better hurry and get a date for her sister.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura was sweaty and pissed off after practice. Things had not been going her way and she was going to take it out on the next person who dared talk to her. She hadn't been expecting anyone to walk up to her though. She was fuming mad, her teeth clenched tight and her fists balled so tightly her fingernails were cutting into the soft skin of her palms. She forcefully flung her soccer bag over her shoulder and was surprised when it made the telltale sound of impact.<p>

She looked over her shoulder and saw a tall, darkly dressed, raven-haired teenager standing behind her and rubbing his side lightly. People often figured Sakura as a weakling. Because she wasn't a guy, she was incapable of putting any force behind her hits. Such people were corrected post haste.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked, skipping an apology because she hadn't really done anything wrong. It was his fault he had stood so close behind her. He deserved to be hit by her heavy bag.

"Just wondering how you're doing. You seemed a little tense."

"Yes, I am. Why are you talking to me then?"

"Since when was it a bad thing for a guy to care?"

"Since I don't know you. Now back away before I'm forced to use my rape whistle on you." Sakura picked up her water bottle and began to walk away, wondering what was going on with the world. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she tensed up for a few seconds before quickly turning, dropping her bad on his foot and shooting out her right arm, hoping to make contact with his nose.

The raven-haired punk was too quick for her though, and avoided her arm, grabbing it as it passed by his head.

"Boy, you sure know how to make a guy want you." He spoke as if she hadn't just tried to maim him and it only riled her up more. She went in for another punch and then dropped down to kick out his feet. Her leg connected with his feet and effectively sent him tumbling to the ground.

"There, now that I've swept you off your feet. Now you can leave me alone!" Sakura once again started off, hoping that whoever this freak was that was following her would get the message.

He didn't.

"Pick you up on Friday, then?" he called from his position on the ground.

"What's your game, chicken boy? Do you even know my name?" she continued walking, not daring to turn around for fear that she'd do something to him that would get her expelled.

"I know a lot more than you think," he responded, trying to go for the mystery angle. Sakura chose to ignore his comment and kept on walking, hoping to get to the showers before they were all taken and hopefully make something out of this shitty day.

_-To be continued-_

_**A/N:**__ Essentially a new chapter. Wanted to add a little more of Sasuke tailing Sakura to add to their upcoming romance. Review and let me know what you thought._


	5. Chapter 4: Your Flashy Car

**-Hate, Love, & All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer:** I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Four-**

**-Your Flashy Car-**

Hyuuga Neji sat at the simple desk in his otherwise over-the-top room. The desk was the only piece of furniture he'd had any hand in buying in his entire room. It was his favourite thing, and the only furniture beside his bed that he actually used on a regular basis. For the most part, he avoided the furniture his uncle bought for him. He hated charity and help of any kind. He preferred to ear his own way and things.

A knock sounded on the door, breaking him from his thoughts. He carefully closed his laptop then headed to the door. He smoothed down his clothes before opening the door. He'd been taught to always open a door to let someone in and not simply yell out a greeting.

"Your uncle requires your presence in his office," the maid standing in the doorway spoke. She then turned and left, back to her daily chores. Neji took a moment to insure he was fit to see his uncle and then made his way through the maze of hallways that was the Hyuuga mansion. When he arrives at his uncle's office, the door was open and his uncle beckoned him in.

"You wanted to speak with me?" Neji asked, taking one of the empty chairs on the other side of the large, mahogany desk.

"Yes, I wanted to discuss the upcoming charity ball I am throwing for Halloween. I know I haven't made a fuss about you coming alone to these functions in the past, but now you're reaching adulthood. It's time you start behaving like an adult and in this instance, that means bringing a date."

Neji's eyes expanded in surprised at his uncle's words. He hadn't thought his uncle had ever been concerned with his personal life. He didn't think his uncle would have cared if he brought a date or not. His uncle had never showed any interest in anything like that before. In fact, his uncle had barely shown in any interest in Neji period.

"Of course, uncle," Neji responded. He was about to stand up and leave when his uncle cleared his throat.

"Neji, I know the type of miscreants you associate with. Please consider what an appropriate date would be. I would have for you to embarrass yourself and our family because you chose an unsuitable companion."

Neji nodded in understanding and then turned to leave after his uncle had waved his hand in dismissal. Once he was down the hall a distance, he punched the wall. His uncle didn't care about him, just how his actions reflected on his uncle and the Hyuuga name.

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten loved Friday afternoons. For one, it was the last day of the week, the day that meant the weekend and freedom was upon them. For another, they got out of school two hours early, thus extending the weekend. What truly made Fridays special was that it was record store day.<p>

During the infancy of her friendship with Sakura, the girls had bonded over their musical interests. They spent many hours amongst the vinyl at Al's Record Emporium. It was the best place to find rare records and share your musical tastes. Since the start of their friendship, the girls had returned to Al's every friend afternoon. They had been doing it for so long that now there wasn't even a question of going somewhere else. It was Al's or nothing.

On that day's excursion, Tenten had procured the final album in her Beatle's collection, the first official album with the 'Beatles' name on it, My Bonnie. Sakura had bought yet another Pink Floyd record.

They were walking out of Al's, discussion their purchases, when Saukra stopped dead. Tenten was then forced to stop short, causing her to nearly fall in the process. The brunette followed the eye line of her friend and found a reasonably attractive male leaning against the hood of Sakura's navy blue Prius.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" Sakura seethed under her breath. Tenten repressed a chuckle at her friend's overreaction before stepping back to watch the show.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke stood, leaning against the hood of on extremely clean Toyota Prius. He was positive this was Sakura's car, having followed her here. He made himself comfortable and waited for the rosette to return from the record store. Sasuke would have gone in but he felt that sitting on her car and blocking her exit would be much more effective.<p>

When Sakura exited the store with her brunette friend, purchases in hand, Sasuke had to repress a smirk at the expression on her face. This was definitely the better way.

"What? Are you stalking me now? I should call the cops on you, but I won't if you'll get off my car, leave me alone, and never bother me again, sound like a deal?" Sakura spoke as she made her way over to the driver's side door. She pulled it open, but didn't step in. instead, she stared at Sasuke, trying to beat him into submission with simply her eyes. Sasuke stared back, meeting her unflinching gaze with one of his own.

"I was actually over at the shoe store, looking for new converse, when I saw this car and wanted to ask the owner about the MPG it gets. See, I'm looking in to this whole hybrid car thing, but if you get crappy mileage, I don't want to waste my money," Sasuke replied coolly. He had always been very apt in the art of deception and thinking on his feet. As long as you believed what you were saying was true, and you didn't make up something completely unbelievable, lying was quite easy.

"It get's fair MPG," Sakura simply replied as her friend got in the car, "now, if you wouldn't mind moving."

"Not very talkative, I see," Sasuke commented, feeling like a bit of a hypocrite because he was usually not this vocal.

"Oh, I can be a real conversationalist, when I'm talking to people who don't make me sick and talking about topics I actually find interesting. Now, don't make me ask you again. Move, or I'll be forced to move you myself." At the end of her threat, Sakura drew herself up to her tallest height. However, it wasn't very effective because she only reached up to his nose. Instead of looking tough, she simply looked humorous. Sasuke felt like a dwarf was harassing him.

"I'll move." He began, a mischievous smile crossing his face, "if you agree to go out with me." He lifted his eyebrow, daring Sakura to rebut.

"Oh, for the love of," Sasuke muttered under her breath, "fine, but I get to pick the place." With that, she closed the door and started the engine. Before Sasuke had even really moved, she began to back her car out of the parking spot.

Sasuke bolted over to Neji's black Audi A6 and directed his friend to follow the small hybrid car. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke could see the irritation plain on his friend's face.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura closed her door and let out an exasperated breath. Why had she let him get to her like that? She had always been very good at being the person who got under other's skin; she was rarely the victim of such actions. Yet that suave, raven-haired punk had weaseled his way into her life and then proceeded to fray her usually strong nerves. She couldn't believe she had just agreed to go out on a date with him.<p>

"Might as well get this over with," she remarked to herself before throwing her car into reverse and speeding out of the spot. She would take him to her favourite joint, but order as little as possible and eat as quickly as she could. Being in his presence sent shivers down her back, and most certainly not in a good way.

"Ummm, not that I don't mind racing through downtown and playing granny dodgem, but what's got you in a fit?" The voice of her friend brought Sakura back from her less than pleasant daydreams and alerted her to the fact that she was currently driving 80 km/h through the residential, 50 km/h, area. Slowing down, Sakura took a minute to collect her thoughts and decided how best to answer her friend.

Tenten was always telling her that she needed to stop making rash decisions simply to get out of an unpleasant situation. Deciding to go out with a complete stranger, who, moments earlier, she'd been arguing with, fell under the category of rash actions. Finally deciding on her exact words, Saukra began to speak very carefully.

"We are going to Anything But A Pizza Pie to meet a friend. I just remembered about it now. Sorry for not telling you and sort of dragging you along. I'll buy you anything you want. I promise." The brunette rolled her eyes in disbelief but remained silent.

For the next few minutes, all that was heard was the harsh drumbeats of the indie station always on in Sakura's car. She found the silence incredibly awkward but didn't speak for fear of giving away her lie. Instead, she remained silent and let the awkwardness fill the car. Before either could be suffocated by it, Sakura pulled into a nearly deserted parking lot and turned off the engine.

She was about to swing open her door and escape the awkwardness when a shiny black car whipped into the next spot and nearly took off her door. She looked over and spotted the annoying raven-haired man.

Oh how she hated that vile little creature.

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Neji sipped his coke; making that irritating slurping sound that normally drove him up the wall. Today, he welcomed the noise with open arms. He would gladly take nails on a chalk board to the unnerving awkward silence he was currently bathed in. his friend may have succeeded in getting the girl to go out with him, but she definitely wasn't happy about it. Sasuke's annoying persistence struck again. While he was almost always able to get what he wanted, it nearly always left the other party angry, upset, and begrudging the raven-haired teen.<p>

"So, how's your year been?" Sasuke asked, attempting to strike up a conversation with the rosette. He was obviously oblivious to the death glare she was fixing him with.

"It was looking pretty rosy up until a few days ago," she responded; the implication that he was ruining her year clear in her tone. Sasuke either didn't pick up on it, which was highly unlikely, or simply chose to ignore it.

"This school does have a way of sucking anything enjoyable out of life. Glad it's almost over and we can finally escape this life-sucking vortex they call 'school'."

Neji glanced over at Sakura to see her reaction to Sasuke's persistence. To the brown-haired male's surprise, a small smile was fighting its way across her face. That was definitely not the usual reaction; this girl was certainly something. A snort from across the table grabbed Neji's attention.

For the first time that afternoon, Neji focused on the girl across from him. He knew next to nothing about her. He had only ever seen her in classes and around the school, he'd never said a word to her. In all honesty, he probably wouldn't have ever said anything to her, except he had no other option for an activity at that moment.

"Your friend has interesting taste," Neji spoke, his voice quiet enough that only the girl across from him could hear.

"That's a little harsh," she responded. Neji was worried that he'd offended her when she continued her thought, "he is your friend after all." Neji could feel his jaw slacken in surprise at the words that had come out of her mouth. He had not expected her to joke; she didn't strike him as the type. The little experience he'd had with her had told him she had a fairly serious disposition and somber view on the world. Her light, joking attitude had been a surprise to him, and was obviously not a part of her personality she shared with the world.

Neji was definitely intrigued by this mysterious brunette.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura would be lying if she said she hadn't enjoyed her meal with Sasuke. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but herself, but that didn't change the facts. He wasn't completely vile; in fact, he could be quite charming. They shared a similar sense of humor, enjoyed the same bands and music, and held similar beliefs at what constituted idiotic and or stupid thoughts or behavior.<p>

However, to keep up appearances, she ate as fast as she could and dragged Tenten away before the brunette had finished. She complained about made-up faults and small imperfections Sasuke had the entire way to her car. She talked about how self-absorbed he seemed and how vile and repulsive she found him. She swore up and down, several times, that she would never be speaking so much as a word to him in the future. In reality, she couldn't wait for their next encounter.

If he asked her out again, she wouldn't accept immediately. She didn't want to give off the impression that she liked him in any way. She'd make him wait and work for it. She'd make him offer all he could before she agreed. But she would go out with him. His company wasn't as awful as she had originally thought.

She walked towards her car and was about to get in when a flashy red mustang whipped around the corner, sped into the parking lot and stopped directly behind her. Sai and a few of his ape-like friends emerged from the interior and headed around back, a well-known drug-dealing location.

Sakura wasn't concerned with where he was going; it was where he had parked that was making her body tense and her vision go red. Not even stopping to think about it, she got in her car, started the engine, threw it into reverse, and slammed into his car yelling 'Towanda' as the top of her lungs.

The crunching of metal reverberated off the nearby storefronts and bounded around the area for minutes after the initial crash. It alerted Sai, who came running around the corner and feel to his knees, his hands clasping his hair, at the sight of the mangled remains of his brand new car. He turned to Sakura, a look of complete and utter distaste on his face, asking for some sort of apology or explanation.

Sakura, still on a high from crashing into his car, smiled innocently and replied, "All cars not properly parked in a space will be towed, or mowed."

_-To be continued-_

_**A/N:**__ Hope you liked the changes to this chapter._

_Just a reminder, 'Towanda' comes from Fried Green Tomatoes._


	6. Chapter 5: Your Absolute Pigheadedness

**-Hate, Love, & All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer:**__ I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Five-**

**-Your Absolute Pigheadedness-**

Sarutobi Sakura walked into school on Monday looking for someone to sink her fists into. She hated taking public transit and having to fit her morning around someone else's schedule. Just stepping foot onto the bus that morning had instantly produced a dark, angry cloud above her head. Now she was going to find someone to take out her horrible mood on and hopefully feel a little better for her first period.

She'd had to take public transportation because of her monetary lapse in sanity on Friday. Ramming into Sai's illegally parked car had done a number on her back bumper. The mechanic wasn't even sure how long it would take to fix it. So, while she waited, she was forced to face the bus and the dark emotions it created.

She was still in this dark mood when someone had the audacity to walk up to her and tap on her shoulder. She gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and turned around as slowly as possible. Standing behind her, looking perturbed was Sai.

"What?" she snapped, trying not to lash out and punch in him the face like she so desperately desired. She'd already totaled his new car and felt that physically attacking him was crossing the line.

"I need your insurance information so I can charge your no doubt PMS-induced bulldozer impression and get my car fixed," he stated, his anger building with each word he spoke. However, his rage was barely half of what she was feeling.

"You parked your car illegally behind mine so you could score a hit. Your damage is totally justified. Go fuck yourself!" Sakura yelled, before pushing past him and heading out the side doors to the parking lot.

She desperately needed some air, and space from the idiots who constantly infuriated her. Unfortunately the universe had other plans.

Leaning against his car, looking all the calm and collected Sakura wasn't was Uchiha Sasuke. Initially, Sakura wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and pull every last strand of hair from her head. Then, a thought materialized. Maybe the universe wasn't as evil as she originally thought.

"Hey, Uchiha!" she yelled as she advanced towards him, determination coursing through her veins.

"Sakura," he spoke with a smile, "what an interesting turn of events." Sakura smiled sweetly at him, luring him in to a false sense of security. She gently placed her hands on his shoulder, enjoying the look of pure confusion that crossed his face. She took a moment, stared into his eyes, and steeled herself for what she was about to do.

She leaned in, drew Sasuke towards her, and the jammed her knee deep into his gut.

"Nothing personal Uchiha," she explained before turning back towards the school, the dark cloud dissipating with every step.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino walked in to the near silent library, the sound of her heels hitting the hard marble floor echoing as she went. She scanned the area, looking for her tutor. She didn't really enjoy these weekly meetings. They took away from her time with her friends and Sai and often made her feel unprepared, inadequate, and idiotic. However, her father had insisted she pull up her math grade and this was the best solution her teacher had come up with. Ino had decided that she'd only stick with the tutoring until she improved her grade from a C- to a B+. Once she reached that, she would quit.<p>

Spotting her, Ino headed over towards the brown-haired boy, stealing herself for an hour of fast-paced, math practice. She carefully constructed a smile and tried to look cheerful and enthusiastic.

"Hey!" she chimed, sitting across from her tutor and setting up her things.

"Hey! I've been working really hard on getting someone for your sister. I think I may have someone for her. So I've been thinking, we could go out for dinner at the place downtown that just opened up and maybe go see that movie that everyone's been raving about…" Ino tuned out the rest of his words.

Almost as soon as he had started speaking, Ino had begun attempting to find a nice way to let him down. She already felt guilty over using him so she could go out with someone else. She didn't want to crush him as well. However, the brown-haired boy himself saved her from that.

"We can talk about that later; for now, let's focus on the exciting, entrancing, enthralling subject that is mathematics!" hid voice rang with such faux-enthusiasm, such sarcasm, that Ino couldn't help but giggle. She wasn't sure what exactly she found funny about it. The tone of his voice? The fake enthusiastic look plastered across his face? What it was, it changed something in Ino.

Previously, she'd been indifferent to her tutor. She hadn't particularly liked him, and found him a little bit annoying, but that was the extent of it. Now, however, Ino wanted to know more about him. There was a slightly humorous side beneath that nerdy, knowledgeable exterior.

The rest of the hour past in a blur of math terms, equations, numbers, and humorous remarks. For once, Ino hadn't had a terrible experience. In fact, it had been quite pleasant. As she stood up, a pleasant smile on her face, Ino was overcome with an undeniable urge to extended the pleasantness.

"Hey, I'm still a little confused about asymptotes. Would you mind coming over to my house this weekend to explain it? I think I'll need more than an hour to figure it out."

"Yeah, of course! How's Saturday at two?"

"Prefect, Ino smiled with actual joy, "see you then!"

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura walked into her room and took a survey of her surroundings. Her taste in decorating was much like her taste in fashion. Dark, gothic colours, minimal cheeriness, and absolutely nothing cutesy, girly, or mainstream. Her walls were dark purple, accented with blood red and midnight blue. They were plastered with indie band and movie posters. Her extensive CD and record collection took up most of one wall. Opposing it was a wall of classical literature and contemporary alternative writers.<p>

Sakura sat on her dark blue and purple bedspread and turned on her iPod. She hit the play button and allowed the pop-rock beats of The Script, the only mainstream band she enjoyed, to fill her room.

She pulled out her notebook, filled with music and lyrics to songs she had written. It was therapy for her to write music. She expressed all the emotions she did not allow herself to feel in everyday life through lyrics and notes.

She was halfway through the first verse when a small pink from her computer alerted her to an IM. She untangled her lanky limbs and sat down at the small desk that's sole purpose was to hold her laptop. She opened the flashing messenger icon and saw a message from an unknown sender.

_Had fun on Friday. Should do it again sometime. Burgers this Friday?_

Sakura thought for a moment, trying to figure out who it was that had sent her the message. It hit her like a speeding train. The rando-punk who'd asked her out and peaked her interest over burgers! The boy she'd kneed in the stomach earlier that very day.

He certainly was a weird one.

_Didn't get the hint this morning? Need a stronger message than a knee to the gut? I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. GO. OUT. WITH. YOU!_

Sakura hoped her message, and her knee, didn't actually scare him off. She just didn't want him, or anyone for that matter, to know that she had normal feelings like attraction and joy.

_You mean your love tap? Of course I got the hint. Pick you up at 6?_

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

_You don't give up! Fine! If it will get you off my back, pick me up at 6:30._

Sakura pressed the send button and smiled a rare, joyous smile.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke was nothing if not persistent. He once spent ten hours camping outside an abandoned warehouse to meet the band that was scheduled to play there. He had spent a summer traipsing around Eastern Europe because he'd heard a rumor that the lead singer of his favourite band was somewhere near Moscow or Budapest. He had even stuck through with things for rewards he didn't particularly enjoy, like school. Once Sasuke put his mind to something, there was no stopping him until he achieved whatever it was.<p>

Figuring out Sarutobi Sakura was one such thing. His interest had only increased with each minute he spent with her. He learned new facts that only increased his desire to know everything there was to know about her. He was so filled with need that he'd devoted all of his attention to getting to know her. Even getting kneed in the stomach by her wouldn't stop him.

He persistently followed Sakura around and found new, and in his mind, romantic ways to ask the fiery rosette out. Initially, she'd turned him down and called him a stalker. His friend Neji wholeheartedly agreed with her. However, Sasuke knew his pigheadedness would eventually pay off; it always did.

He'd succeeded in getting her to go out for burgers once more, but was starting to believe that sheer persistence would not work much longer. Sooner or later, it would loose its charm, or whatever it was making it successful, and simply became annoying.

He and Neji had just been discussing other ways Sasuke could go about asking out the punkie rosette when two boys approached them. Sasuke recognized the slightly rotund one as being Akimichi Chouji, only because they'd had several classes together over the years. The other boy didn't even register on his radar.

"Can we help you gentlemen with something?" Neji asked. Having been raised by the high class Hyuugas, Neji had been taught to always respect people. Sasuke had been able to influence the orphaned Hyuuga to the point where he could make fun of people from a distance. That was as far as he was able to go though. He could stab people in the back, but he couldn't be mean to their faces.

"We know what you're doing with Sarutobi Sakura," the unknown brown-haired male spoke. A threatening look crossed the Uchiha's face and the boy began backtracking. "I mean, I know you're trying to go out with her that Sai can go out with her sister. Really, it's me who set all this up so I could go out with her. We're here to help you with whatever problems you're having."

Sasuke and Neji shared a look, expressing their shared thinking. These boys had come at just the right time. Two fresh minds would definitely be able to figure out a way to gain some knowledge on Sakura.

"We actually have quite the conundrum for you," Sasuke began, carefully weighing his words to ensure he didn't paint himself in a bad light. "I feel that my current method of persuading the young miss Sakura is not as effective as I would like. I need to find something to help me, quote unquote, 'woo her'."

The pineapple haired teen stared at him for a moment, a look that portrayed he thought Sasuke an idiot displayed on his face. Sasuke repressed the urge to punch him.

"You could ask her friend. I'm sure she'd know all the tricks to get to Sakura. Girls share everything with each other."

Sasuke felt like an idiot. That was a fairly obvious solution. He was upset that his cunning, conniving brain hadn't produced it. Maybe it had something to do with Sakura; she was the only major change in his life recently. Maybe she was draining away his brainpower, slowly making him more and more stupid. This girl had better be worth the loss.

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Neji stood awkwardly outside the mahogany door, trying to gather the courage to actually knock on it. Neji wasn't normally an over cautious or timid person, but there was so much riding on him. If he didn't succeed, Sasuke wouldn't have an in with Sakura, and he would never hear the end of it. He decided to proceed with great caution, weighing each word and action carefully before committing to it.<p>

He finally raised his hand to know on the solid wood surface only to have it wrenched away from him at the last second. Stopping his fist before it collided with the person standing behind the door, absolute dread filled his entire being. Tenten stood in the doorway, a curious look on her face. She had obviously noticed him standing outside her door and come to see what was up. In his attempts to avoid looking foolish, he'd gone and done just that.

"Sorry if I interrupted something, but my sister was complaining about the 'weirdo standing on our front porch.' If I hadn't come out to collect you, the cops might have," Tenten prattled, speaking extremely fast and having to take a few calming breaths once finished.

Neji chose not to answer her and instead simply brushed past her. He tried to get into her house as fast as possible in the hopes that the evening would be over quickly. Not only had he possibly messed things up for Sasuke, who would want to open up to such a weird person, he had embarrassed himself in front of the girl he had begun to have stirrings for.

Neji walked down the hallway and, with some direction from Tenten, ended up in the open space of the living room. Finding a comfortable position against the couch, he began removing the copious textbooks and notebooks he'd need for the evening. The project that had brought him here that night was fairly simple: a research-based project involving various Asian countries during the 14th and 15th centuries. They were supposed to compare and contrast each and make an in-class presentation stating what they had learned. However, to acquire the detail their history teacher, Yamato, required, would take a lot of man-hours.

The two worked in relative silence for the first half an hour or so. They split up the workload, each taking a few countries, and researched independently. Later, they would share notes and begin working on the real meat and potatoes of the project. The research required very little talking, creating a nearly noiseless atmosphere that was only broken by the scratching of pencils, the turning of book pages, and the sound of Tenten's thin, agile fingers striking the keys of her computer.

Truth be told, Neji far more enjoyed working in silence than having someone feel the need to fill the void with pointless conversation. He already sat through many Hyuuga dinners in which his little cousin, Hanabi, had prattled on and on about various topics that interested no one but her.

It was getting late, close to six o'clock and the time his uncle ordered him to be home, when Neji realized that he hadn't even begun to address the second reason for his being there. He had gotten so wrapped up in his schoolwork that he completely forgot about Sasuke. The Hyuuga male paused his researching to flesh out a method in which to bring up the conversation topic of Sarutobi Sakura.

His lack of work, the absence of his previously near-constant pencil scratching, must have alerted Tenten. She too paused in her work and turned to the stationary Hyuuga.

"Everything okay with you?" she asked carefully. Deciding that he would be given no further time to think, Neji hesitantly proceeded with his objective.

"I was just thinking about last Friday and our two friends," he began, still a little unsure of how to go about asking Tenten about Sakura's likes and dislikes.

"Your friend does seem very persistent and determined," she stated simply, "he might want to be careful he doesn't push too hard or he may scare her off." Neji couldn't help but smile at her words; they were exactly what he'd needed to hear.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that. See, Sasuke means well, but his execution could definitely use some work. Any hints you could give me to help him?"

A smile crossed the brunette's face.

"Well, you could tell your friend that Sakura would rather kiss Sai than a smoker; she can barely stand to be in the same room as someone who smokes. It reminds her too much of her father. Also, she would rather die than admit it, but she absolutely loves The Script. She's been trying to convince her dad to let her go to their upcoming concert for a year. If Sasuke were to get her tickets, even crappy seats, I'm sure she'd find it almost impossible to say no to him."

Neji took a minute to process everything Tenten had told him, before thanking her and getting back to his work. Sasuke would definitely appreciate this information.

_-To be continued-_

_**A/N: **__Changes are starting to become larger and more frequent. Hope you like them!_


	7. Chapter 6: Your OvertheTop Chivalry

**-Hate, Love, & All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Six-**

**Your Over-the-Top-Chivalry-**

Uchiha Sasuke paced the floor of his spacious room, trying to find some outlet for his anxiety besides putting a hole in the wall. Neji had promised to call the moment he got any useful information out of Tenten. It was now creeping closer and closer to 6:00, and the end of the study session or whatever it was. If Neji didn't call soon, Sasuke would be shit out of luck. He needed his friend to succeed. There was no alternative.

After what felt like hours, the harsh ring of the telephone sounded throughout the Uchiha Estate. Sasuke collapsed onto his overlarge bed, allowing the pent-up stress and anxiety to leave his body. He would finally have the information he needed to impress and win over Sarutobi Sakura.

The phone ceased ringing after three shrill chimes, signaling that one of the many Uchiha servants had picked up. Whoever had answered would soon be knocking on his door, informing him that he had a phone call. Sure enough, three minutes after the phone stopped ringing, a soft knock sounded on the other side of his door. Sasuke hesitated, attempting to suppress the alien joy bubbling up inside him. He wouldn't let _anyone_ see any emotion on his face except disinterest, contempt, anger, or disgust. Happy emotions would not grace his face, ever.

"Enter," Sasuke grunted after successfully burying his happiness deep inside of him. One of the many employees of the Uchiha Estate cautiously peaked through a small opening in the door.

"Uchiha-san," she began hesitantly and with a harsh accent, "Hyuuga-san call you. Say Sakura-san no like smokers and want script tickets."

"Arigato. You may leave now," Sasuke replied with a careless wave of his hand. He could definitely use that information. Not smoking would be hard, but if it meant achieving his goal, he could do it.

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten lay on her bed, reflecting on the evening. It had been pleasant, even though it had been nearly completely work-oriented. She'd felt comfortable in his presence; he hadn't made her feel awkward or self-conscious. She hadn't thought about her actions and words, or how they'd be interpreted. She'd just been herself.<p>

However, as relaxed as she felt, she hadn't completely let her guard down. Past experience had taught her not to fully trust people. The only person she trusted completely was Sakura, and that was only after the rosette had bared her soul first.

The brunette was brought out of her thoughts by the pinging of her instant messenger. She rolled over and scurried toward her laptop, hoping that whatever Sakura had to tell her wouldn't greatly darken her mood.

_Tennie! Do I have some fabulous news! Stalker-boy asked me to the Script concert! You know I've wanted to go since I heard they were coming here! Guess putting up with stalker boy won't too much of a challenge if I get to go!_

Tenten smiled at the words. She didn't know why her friend insisted on keeping up the act that she hated the raven-haired punk. It was obvious that she was looking forward to spending an entire evening with him. Tenten decided it would be easier to just go along with her friend.

_Hope he doesn't drag the mood down too much! Have a fantastic time! Don't fall in love!_

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura sat on the window seat in her bedroom, squirming and fidgeting. She was extremely excited to be going to the concert. She had been in love with the Irish rock band since the release of their first album in 2008. She couldn't wait to hear them live!<p>

At the same time, she was nervous for how the date would turn out. She'd followed her plan to the letter. She'd rejected his advances, turned him down every single time he'd asked her out, and waited until he offered all he could before saying yes. But that was where the plan ended. She hadn't thought about what to do after she said yes. Leaving it up to fate did not sit easy with Sakura.

She had finished getting ready for the date nearly an hour ago and had spent that time trying to come up with a plan of attack for the night. She needed to keep up the pretense of finding him annoying and repugnant, but at the same time, she still wanted to act interested enough that she didn't drive him away. She wasn't sure what had initially drawn him to her, but she wanted to make sure he stayed drawn.

Finally, ten minutes after the time they had agreed he would pick her up, the doorbell rang. Sakura sprang from her seat and raced towards the door. As she hurried along the hallway and down the stairs, she hoped beyond hope that her sister wouldn't reach the door first. Ino had an annoying habit of believing that she was the only person in the Sarutobi household who had friends. If the phone rang or someone was at the door, Ino would be there before the others even started moving.

On that particular night, however, Sakura seemed to have luck on her side, something she hoped would continue. As she neared the front door, she could hear Ino's overly sugary pop music blaring from the blonde's room. Sakura couldn't understand how her sister could listen to it, but said a silent thank you that she did. Ino's music was so loud she hadn't heard the door.

Sakura opened the door, a look of disgust at her sister's music displayed clearly on her face.

"I hope that look isn't directed at me," Sasuke commented, a flirtatious undertone to his words. However, Sakura didn't hear the joking undertone of what he said; her brain was occupied elsewhere. The moment her eyes had landed on the darkly dressed male, fully aware of how her features were arranged, fear and dread had slowly spread throughout her body. The date hadn't even begun and already her courtier thought she was disgusted with him.

Sakura, however, was not a girl who wore her emotions on her sleeve. She was the type of person to put on a mask and only take it off in the safety of her bedroom. She set her features, told herself that it was still early and she could make up for it, and came up with a witty retort.

"Seen this look directed at you a lot, have you? Maybe if you cared to show up on time for your engagements, people would stop looking at you with such disgust. Now let's get going! We're going to be late!" Sakura grabbed her keys and coat, and tugged Sasuke out of the house. In the same motion, she locked the door behind her, erasing any evidence of her departure. When she turned back to face the young Uchiha, she was met with a quizzical stare.

"What's the rush? The concert doesn't start for another hour and a half. It wont take that long to get there," Sasuke inquired, quirking his eyebrow upwards. Had Sakura possessed any less control, she would have swooned at the sight. Sasuke, with his eyebrow quirked, looked so amazingly sexy and godlike. Instead, Sakura merely bit her tongue in an attempt to keep her hormones under control.

"My dad doesn't exactly know that I'm going out with _you._ He thinks I'm spending the night at Tenten's," Sakura sheepishly answered. Sasuke smirked and sent her insides reeling.

"Perhaps standing just outside the door is a bad idea then. Your father could look out that window," he motioned up towards the second story window directly above the door, "and spot us out here. I know a great little burger joint near the arena. We could get a bite to eat before the concert." Sasuke finished by grabbing the rosette's hand and leading her towards his parked car.

For the third time that night, Sakura felt her control slipping. She had spent years carefully suppressing all feelings except anger, disgust, and other similar emotions. All that hard work was about to be unraveled by the Uchiha and she'd only spent five minutes in his company. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino sat in her room, one of the current top forty pop songs blaring from her iPod dock. While the music was up beat and cheery, Ino was feeling the exact opposite. It was a Friday night and Ino couldn't go out because her sister acted the way she did just to spite the blonde.<p>

As the melancholy blonde sat atop her rose and lilac coloured bedspread, the music was momentarily paused by a chirping noise. The sound signaled the blonde to the fact that she had just received a text. She scurried off her bed, hoping that whatever words the message contained would uplift her spirits.

_inie-chan! u'll nvr guess wat i just hrd! P.A.R.T.Y! nxt fri Sai's! u in?_

A smile broke across the petite blonde's face. That was just what she wanted to hear. Now, if she could only convince her sister to go. If Sakura didn't go to the party, then Ino wouldn't be allowed to go either. Sakura may have only been a few minutes older than the blonde, but, in her father's eyes, those few minutes were equivalent to years. Sakura was the older sister and therefore responsible for Ino.

Deciding to stick by the old cliché –there's no time like the present- Ino stood from her bed, grabbed her phone from the docking station and went in search of her sister. The blonde knew her sister wasn't in her room; the girls hadn't been fighting over music supremacy. That left only two places Sakura liked to sulk, and there was never a moment Sakura wasn't sulking. The rosette was either sitting at the family's piano in the basement or lying outside on the hammock.

Ino checked those two spots and then most of the rest of the house, coming up empty with every new spot. Finally, Ino conceded defeat and headed towards her father's study. Either he would know where Sakura had gone, or Ino would get Sakura in trouble for sneaking out. Both options worked for the blonde.

"Otoosan," Ino called innocently from behind the door. In the Sarutobi family dynamic, Sakura was the troubled daughter, the one who caused her father the most consternation. Ino, on the other hand, was the angel who always did as she was told and never broke the rules.

A grunt sounded from behind the door. Ino interpreted her father's response as permission to enter. Still putting on her innocent act, Ino slowly edged the door open and cautiously stepped into the paneled room.

"Do you know where Sakura-neechan is? I have something to discuss with her and I cannot find her anywhere." Her father momentarily looked up from his work to answer.

"She's spending the night at Tenten's. You'll just have to wait and talk to her tomorrow." Once he was finished speaking, he returned to his work. Ino took his action as a dismissal and left. However, she wasn't thinking of waiting to talk to her sister. She'd call over to Tenten's and ask to speak to the rosette. This matter was too important to wait.

Once Ino was sure she was out of her father's earshot, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her phonebook. Ino had only added the brunette's number into her cellphone because Sakura was always over there and the rosette didn't own a phone herself.

The phone rang for a few moments before a gravely Chinese-accented voice picked up.

"Hello. This is Sarutobi Ino. I was wondering if I could please speak to my sister, Sakura. It is urgent." Ino always spoke very formally when on the phone with strangers.

"Your sister no here. Come later says wài sūn nū. Call back, 10:30," the voice on the other end scolded. Ino had somehow set off Tenten's Chinese grandmother. Deciding not to press the matter any further, the blonde simply hung up. She had all the information she needed.

Sakura had lied to their father and Ino had proof! She now had blackmail material she could use to get her sister to go to the party. The day was finally turning around for the younger Sarutobi twin.

* * *

><p>Akimichi Chouji sat in his bedroom, playing video games and eating for too much junk food. Just a typical Friday evening for the pudgy, brown haired boy. He was just about to level up and complete the game when a flashing light on the computer caught his eye. He paused the game and turned to the screen to discover he'd received an email. He didn't immediately recognize the address, but opened it anyway.<p>

_Yo!_

_I'm having a party this weekend and I want Ino to be there. Do whatever you need to get her there. I'll pay your dude to bring the shrew, just make sure Ino's there._

_Sai._

* * *

><p><em>To be continued<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__No real changes to this chapter, but I liked the way this one turned out originally._


	8. Chapter 7: Your Plotting Nature

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Seven-**

**-Your Plotting Nature-**

Inchiki Sai walked into school on Monday with total confidence. He had been slow to start, but now he had a plan, it wouldn't be long before he could ass Ino's name to his list of conquests. She had been his obsession for the past month and a half, an oddity for the young player. He was usually able to bed a woman within two weeks of deciding he wanted to; Ino had provided many extra challenges. While the hurdles had originally been for him, Sai now found them tedious and annoying. He was really looking forward to moving on, to say the least.

His plan for Ino was simple, yet ingenious. His parents were going away for the weekend and they had left his pushover college brother in charge. It had taken next to no effort on Sai's part to convince his brother to spend Friday night at the library. All Sai had to say was that he planned to blare his stereo now that his parents were gone. With his brother out of the house, Sai was free to throw a party. He then planned to use the alcohol-induced inhibitions and the no-regrets attitude that permeated parties to get what he wanted from Ino.

The only possible snag in his otherwise perfect plan was Ino's shrew of a sister. The dark haired male knew that Ino's strict father wouldn't allow his youngest daughter anywhere near the party without the rosette as a chaperone. Sai would have been a complete imbecile, much luck his lackey friends, if he hadn't planned for such an eventuality. He would continue with what that fatso nobody had suggested and used the paid-for burnout to ensure Sakura was at his house on Friday.

After walking through many hallways and checking numerous dark corners that normally contained a stoner or two, Sai finally found the key to his master plan. The two darkly dressed males were sitting outside on the soccer field bleachers. Sai set his features into a business-like manner and approached the pair. Normally, Sai wouldn't degrade himself by interacting with people of such low social standing. This time, Sai had business to conduct with the punks; he had no other choice.

"Oi!" Sai called out once he was within earshot. He hadn't taken the time to learn their names and, as a result, was forced to hope that they knew he wanted their attention. Thankfully, at Sai's call, both boys' heads snapped to attention.

"Ah, good. You did hear me. I need a word with you," Sai waved his hand in the direction of the raven-haired punk, "about our little… arrangement." He stopped his speech and waited for the punk to join him. This wasn't a conversation the dark haired player wanted to have by shouting at each other. However, the punk did not move or make an attempt to join Sai.

"Right then, what do you want to discuss? I haven't got all day! Out with it!" the raven-haired boy prodded. Sai took a moment to sculpt his features into an exasperated look. He had become an expert at portraying emotions –ones he didn't actually feel- for dramatic effect. He had been doing it with his parents since he was a baby. They believed their youngest son was an absolute angel. He was such an expert at facades that his 'friends' often suggested he should become an actor.

When neither punk moved at the sight of Sai's expression, the popular boy had no choice but to go to them. He was breaking all his rules on this girl. Ino had better be worth it or someone was going to pay.

"I am hosting a party this Friday," the dark haired male began once he was on the step below the other two, "and I need you to take Sakura so Ino can come. I'll make it worth your while. Say $400 for the entire night, ten to two." He pulled out a bundle of money from his pocket and waved it before their faces. The two boys turned to each other and began whispering, discussing the offer. After a few minutes, in which Sai pictured his victory, the punk under his employment spoke once more.

"You've got yourself a deal, pretty boy."

* * *

><p>Akimichi Chouji hurried into school, hoping to catch Shikamaru before the morning bell rang. He had been unable to contact the Nara all weekend and, as a result, was bursting with good news. Sai may have planned his party so he could see Ino outside of school but Chouji had thought Shikamaru could do the same.<p>

Sadly, the Nara had not been gaining much ground on the romantic front with Ino. Chouji had riddled out that one possibility for such a lack of progress was that Ino only witnessed the nerdy and socially awkward Shikamaru. If the blonde were to interact with the pineapple haired teen outside of school, she would be able to glimpse more of his personality. All Shikamaru had to do was attract Ino's attention Friday night.

Finally, Chouji found the boy he had been searching for and quickly relayed the important news. Shikamaru took a moment to consider the situation, the possibilities that arose from it, and what it meant for him. Eventually, an apprehensive smile crossed his face.

"And Sai said he'd pay Sasuke to take out Sakura?" Shikamaru inquired attempting to solidify his knowledge. Chouji nodded and the other boy lapsed into another thoughtful silence. "We should find Sasuke and make sure he knows about everything. I would hate to loose this opportunity to spend time with Ino just because we didn't check."

Chouji nodded once more and the two new friends set off to find their partners in crime, so to speak.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke exhaled a deep, annoyed sigh and pressed on through the crowds of students cluttering the hallway. He was never at school this early in the morning. The only reason he was braving the insanity of the early morning hallways was a petite, pink haired girl. He hadn't had the opportunity to talk to her since dropping her off at her friend's house. Sasuke tried to gauge her emotions as she'd left his car, but her face had been typically closed off. He desperately wanted to know if she'd enjoyed herself in his company as much as he had in hers.<p>

Over the period of the evening, Sasuke's initial casual interest in the rosette had turned to something much more. Previously, his main motivation to spend time with the rosette had simply been to figure her out, to learn whom she was an what made her tick. As he'd uncovered more and more about the rosette, his interest had only grown. He wanted more than just to know her. And that scared him.

He hadn't allowed himself to feel any positive emotions since he was eight and he came home to find the large Uchiha estate crawling with cops. It had taken a while to get the full story, but he had eventually learned that the notoriously violent Oto gang had perpetrated the brutal double murder of his parents. The murdered had been explained as gang violence because his brother, Itachi, was a member of a rival gang, Akatsuki.

It had been such a senseless crime and, at eight years old, Sasuke hadn't been able to cope with it. Instead, he simply shut down, and would not allow himself to feel joy, or happiness, or any similar emotion ever again. If any had threatened to present themselves, he would quickly suppress it, burying it under years of depression, angst, anger, sadness, betrayal, and hurt. However, these feelings that had surfaced as he'd spent time with Sakura were stronger than any that had come before, and he was having difficulties burying them.

Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts by the sight of the fiery girl he had been looking for. She was sitting alone at a large table, multiple books spread around her in an otherwise completely deserted library. She was radiating malicious vibes, letting anyone who got to close know that she didn't want to be disturbed. Ignoring the nearly overpowering vibes, Sasuke sauntered up and took the seat across from Sakura. Sensing the new presence, Sakura looked up, her death glare already on her face. When she spotted who had the audacity to approach her, her glare lessened slightly.

"What can I do for you, stalker-boy?" Sakura inquired, irritation and a faint hint of some emotion clouding her voice. A small smile, undetectable to the rosette, crossed Sasuke's face at the nickname. She was the only one with the balls to give him an unflattering nickname and use it so openly.

"Have you heard about the big party this weekend?" he asked. The minute he'd stepped foot on the school grounds that morning, he had been bombarded by this information from both Sai and Shikamaru. He had spoken his question with the belief that he was simply making conversation and not leading to something else.

"Yeah, it's all around school. What of it?" Sakura responded, returning his casual conversational tone. The look on her face as she spoke, however, told Sasuke he knew his game.

"Well, I usually find them tedious and lame, but I have a feeling that if you were to join me to this one we could make it quite enjoyable." His voice was still casual, but now it was accompanied with disinterest and indifference. He didn't want to come off as eager or hopeful, two very un-Sasuke emotions, even though that was all he felt at that moment. In response, Sakura rolled her eyes and returned to her mountain of books.

Sasuke let out a sigh and tried to stop the pained expression that was quickly spreading across his face. 'It's only Monday and I have until Friday night to convince her to go. No problem,' he attempted to reassure himself. However, it was less effective than he would have liked. In an attempt to avoid Sakura seeing his pained expression, Sasuke stood and turned to leave. He was halfway out of the library when a quite voice called out after him.

"Parties aren't normally my cup of tea, but maybe… maybe just this once… with you."

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino sat in the school courtyard during her free period, gossiping with her friends. If she was being completely honest with herself, she would have admitted that after nearly four years of the same routine, she was beginning to tire of it. The conversations were always extremely shallow and conceited. Sometimes, she just wanted to hold an intelligent conversation with someone, like she did when she went to her tutor. It was for this fact that she had begun to look forward to sitting in the library and learning math for an hour.<p>

Her images of the brown haired male were interrupted by the arrival of a dark haired male. Sai entered the courtyard with a flourish, grabbing everyone's attention. In the back of her mind, Ino compared it to the understated entrance of Shikamaru, and found Sai's annoyed her a little. But before those thoughts could move to the forefront, Sai turned his attention to her.

"Sai!" Ino cheered as he seductively smiled at her.

"Ino, just the girl I was looking for. As I'm sure you've heard, I'm throwing a party on Friday. It would mean the world to me if you came to it, as my date," he spoke, his voice sounding sweet and sincere. However, as Ino listened closely, she detected something else in his voice, something sinister. She suppressed that thought and enlarged her smile.

"I'd love to," she began, "but I can't go if my sister doesn't. Knowing her, she isn't going to want to get anywhere near you or your house." Ino did have blackmail on her sister, but she wanted to save that for something bigger than a house party, even if that had been her original plan.

Sai took the empty spot beside Ino on the ledge of the foundation and gently wrapped his arm around the petite blonde and pulled her close.

"It's all taken care of. Don't you worry your pretty little head."

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru sat in the library, surrounded by math textbooks, when Ino excitedly entered. She quickly took the seat across from him, pulled out her books, and looked at him with an expectant expression. At the start of the year, Shikamaru could tell Ino would rather be anywhere but there. However, as the weeks passed, Shikamaru could see a change in the blonde, and it seemed she'd actually started to enjoy herself.<p>

"Hey! Ready to get started? I thought we could review integers…" Shikamaru trailed off, seeing the expression on Ino's face. She was looking at him trying to express she had something to say. Ino took his pause as a cue to speak.

"Have you heard about the party at Sai's?" Shikamaru tried not to let the excitement he felt at her words show. He just couldn't believe Ino had brought up the party; he had expected he would have to and had spent the morning trying to figure out how exactly to go about it.

"Yeah, that seems to be all everyone can talk about. What about it?" Shikamaru inquired, attempting to come off cool and detached.

"Well, I totally want to go, but my sister absolutely detests all things Sai and defs won't want to go on her own. She may, however, go it someone were to ask her to it." Ino then subjected Shikamaru to the full force of her puppy-dog pout. Even though he already had something worked out, the force of the look she was giving him made him want to move mountains for her.

"It's all taken care of; don't you worry about a thing."

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten lay sprawled across her living room floor, her foot unconsciously resting against Neji's thigh. They had spent the past few hours busy working and had only just begun to share their findings. Neji was relaying his notes to the brunette, though she had stopped paying attention quite some time ago. Instead, she was simply listening to the sound of his melodic voice. The deep baritone wafted over the young female and took her away to a beautiful paradise.<p>

"And then, the Chinese attacked Portugal on their flying pigs because Portugal had stolen the Emperor's favourite silken slippers. I don't know about you, but I think this was a very important part of the Euro-Asian relations. Should we include it in our presentation?" the Hyuuga asked, his tone completely serious. Tenten, who hadn't heard a single word but realized a question had been asked, simply nodded.

Neji slammed down his pen in frustration.

"If you don't want to be doing this, then just say so. I have better things to do than waste my time." He stood up to leave and started collecting his books. In an attempt to stop him leaving, Tenten spoke without really thinking about her words.

"No, I want to do this. Your voice is just so captivating, but I'll try and pay more attention. It is hard though, since I am so attracted to you…" As the last few words escaped her lips, she realized what she had said and clamped her hands over her mouth before she could say anything else. She turned a shade of red that greatly resembled a tomato and desperately wished to be smote on the spot.

How could she have said those words? They made her sound like a creep, or worse, some prissy fan girl. That was definitely not the image she wanted to portray. Tenten knew there was no taking back what she'd said, but that didn't stop her from trying. She hoped, and wished, and prayed for a wormhole to open up and take her back to five minutes ago.

However, when the lighting bolt did strike it wasn't from heaven as she'd been hoping. Neji, who had been silent for quite some time now, spoke without any warning.

"Would you like to go to Sai's party with me?"

* * *

><p><em>To be continued<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__Another chapter similar to the original. Expect major changes in the next few though! Review and let me know what you thought._


	9. Chapter 8: Your Poor Decision Making

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter 8-**

**-Your Poor Decision Making-**

Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji were busy preparing for the party at Shikamaru's house. They planned on arriving at the stated invitation time, 9:00. They figured if they arrived early enough, Shikamaru would have most of the party time to show Ino he was more than just a math tutor. He had just finished pulling the first clean shirt he could find over his head when the cherry sounds of Scott Joplin's The Entertainer sounded throughout the room.

Shikamaru knew that it was his phone that had sounded, but he didn't immediately dig through his piles of clothes in search of it. Answering the phone would make them late for the party, seeing as it would take twenty minutes to get there and it was already 8:39. Any more time spent at his house, and they wouldn't arrive at their chosen time. However, the little voice inside his head was urging him to look for his phone and answer it.

Eventually, the voice in his head won out and Shikamaru found himself digging through piles of odorous, dirty clothes. Surprisingly, he was able to locate it fairly easily in the jeans he had been wearing the day before, and pushed the answer button. He hadn't taken the time to check the caller id and, as a result, was unsure who was calling him.

"Hello?" he asked hesitantly.

"Nara, it's me, Sasuke," the voice on the other end spoke. Shikamaru mouthed to Chouji that it was Sasuke calling and the other male motioned for the Nara to put his phone on speaker. He did as he was requested and the Uchiha's baritone filled the room.

"Neji was going to pick me up around 10:30 and was wondering whether or not you two needed a ride?"

Shikamaru paled. Sasuke and Neji weren't going to leave for the party until after ten?! Why would that be?

"10:30? But the party starts at 9:00. Why would you get there so late?" Shikamaru queried, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

"I know the fashionably late thing is a mainstream popular way to act, but the truth is, the party won't start going until the populars arrive. In this one instance, it's sort of required to act like them, and come several hours late. Before 11:00, things are just lame." Shikamaru gawked. He couldn't believe he and Chouji had almost been about to commit social suicide by arriving so horrendously early.

"Yeah, totally, and about that ride, Chouji and I are getting there on our own. Thanks," he managed to get out in his completely stunned state. When he hung up, he quickly raced to the bathroom and retched into the toilet.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino paced the hallway outside her father's office. She'd spent the past ten minutes trying to figure out how to breech the subject of Sai's party with her father. She'd purposefully left this to the last possible moment to avoid all the lectures her father was famous for. Mentioning it half an hour before she planned to leave would greatly reduce her time spent listening to a lecture of the sin and depravity that occurred at parties.<p>

Ino was about to knock on the door when her twin sister sauntered down the hall. Ino nearly had a panic attack at seeing her pink haired sister –dyed that way to differentiate her from Ino- casually ambling through the hallways in grubby sweat pants.

"What are you wearing!?" Ino exclaimed at the sight. She knew her sister didn't pay as much thought to her appearance as Ino did, but it would most certainly take her time to look presentable and teen-party appropriate.

"Sweats," Sakura stated simply, taking a sip of the coke she held in her hand. Ino felt her face flush with anger and her vision went red. Sometimes her sister's nonchalance and complete lack of awareness of Ino made the blonde want to strangle her sister.

"You cannot be planning on going to Sai's party in that!" Ino spat, angrily motioning to the stained, torn, and baggy outfit her sister had chosen for the evening. Just as Ino finished speaking, the door to her father's office opened, revealing an angry-looking dark haired male.

"What party, girls?" their father asked, his tone ice cold. Both girls force, similar expressions of being caught on their face. Unfortunately for Ino, Sakura was the first to recover.

"This idiotic popular boy at school is having a party tonight. Ino's desperate to go, but it's not really my scene," Sakura stated simply. Ino could have killed her sister in that moment.

"Is this true Ino? There's a party tonight at some boys house?" Her father spoke the word 'boy' as if it were poison.

"Yes, everyone who is anyone is going to be there. If I don't go it will be like committing social suicide!"

"It's just a party, Ino," her father attempted to argue. Ino's aghast expression stopped him in his tracks. "If you want to go that badly, your sister will have to go as well." Both turned to look at the rosette that was causally sipping her coke.

"I already said it wasn't my scene," Sakura spoke in response. Ino's mouth dropped open. Both Sai and Shikamaru had assured her that Sakura would be going tonight! How had this all gone so terribly wrong? Ino was about to go odd on her sister for her selfishness, a very un-Ino-like thing to do, when the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Tenten. I hope you don't mind dad, but I invited her over to get ready for the party together." Sakura then turned to her sister, smirked in satisfaction, and sauntered off towards the door. She was gone before Ino registered what had just happened, which saved the rosette from death at the blonde's hands.

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Neji impatiently tapped his fingers on his steering wheel. He had told Sasuke that they would meet at 10:30 with the intention of arriving closer to 11:00, and thus avoid waiting for his perpetually late friend. When Neji had first met Sasuke back in sixth grade, he assumed the Uchiha's constant tardiness was simply a juvenile act by a young troubled boy.<p>

Now, six years later, Neji knew it was not simply a juvenile act, but a part of who Sasuke was. It was a fact of life. The sky would always be blue. The sun would always rise in the east and set in the west. Uchiha Sasuke would always be late. These things would never change and it was time Neji learned to accept them.

Finally, at 11:10, Sasuke sauntered out of his large house, not a care in the world. If a casual observer had taken in the sight, they would not have assumed Sasuke had kept his friend waiting for forty minutes. As the Uchiha entered the care, the pale-eyed male shot him his most severe glare, but got no response out of Sasuke. Not for the first time in their friendship did Neji wonder why they were still friends.

* * *

><p>Akimichi Chouji stood against a wall bobbing his head slightly to the hip-hop beats blaring from a nearby stereo. He was too shy to join in with the grinding and thrashing taking place in Sai's living room. Instead, he was content with simply observing the people as they partied. His current subjects of observation standing only inches from each other as they gyrated on the floor, were Sai and Ino.<p>

Chouji was glad that Shikamaru had separated from him to fins the non-alcoholic drinks and Ino. Chouji had stumbled across this room shortly after they had separated and glues himself to the wall. The pudgy teen was thankful his friend had not witnessed the sight; he was sure it would absolutely devastate the Nara. Ino was all Shikamaru had been able to talk about for weeks. Knowing she had chosen someone else over him, especially Sai, would leave Shikamaru as an emotional wreck.

Though, Chouji did not fault the blonde for her choice. He knew Sai had decided Ino would be his next conquest, and Sai was pretty hard to say no to, especially amongst the popular set. It seemed that to popular girls, Sai was kryptonite. He'd just hoped Ino would have been stronger or not played Shikamaru as well. It was one thing to use him to find someone for her sister, but it was a total other ball game to act like she enjoyed spending time with him.

Chouji had to find Shikamaru fast and convince him to leave before he could see Ino throwing herself at another person. It was not something he'd ever want to put on anyone.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino enjoyed herself with Sai for exactly half an hour before it became glaringly obvious that he had very little interest in her beyond her body. He had discussed the 'finer merits' of the female form right in front of her. He had downed drink after drink with no end in sight. He had eagerly, and with startling immaturity, practices countless drinking games. Lastly, he kept trying to force alcohol down her throat and then force himself on her.<p>

Ino couldn't believe she hadn't noticed this about Sai before. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen his wandering eye, his flirtatious encounters with other girls, his sexist, sexual comments about her body, and his narcissism. All night, he could not stop talking about himself. Ino felt as if she was talking to her vapid, airhead friends. The previous attraction Ino had felt towards Sai had completely vanished. Now all she wanted was to get as much space between her and Sai as possible. She just wanted to lave the party, change into sweats, and curl up in front of the TV.

"Hey Sai, I'm gonna get some fresh air. Be right back, kay," Ino spoke sweetly, before quickly leaving Sai's side. He only grunted in acknowledgement.

Once she was out of his sight, she began searching the house for Ami, her ride for the night. She found her grinding with some junior in the loud living room and pulled her into the quite study to talk.

"This party is lame, let's bounce," Ino spoke, casually grabbing for Ami's wrist to pull her out of the house. However, Ami wrenched her wrist out of her hand.

"I'm having fun. If you want to leave, go right ahead, but I'm definitely staying! This is the party of the semester and I want to be here for all the juicy things that are going to go down." With that, Ami turned on her heel and returned to her junior.

Ino swore under her breath. Her only other option was to ask her sister for a ride and Ino wasn't sure it was really an option. Her sister would most likely tell her to fuck off and walk home. Even if Sakura did agree to drive her, that would mean Ino would owe Sakura a favour; you never wanted to owe Sakura a favour. But it was her last option to leave this dreadful party.

She was in the middle of searching for her sister, just about to ascend the stairs and check the second floor, when she ran into Sai. She tried to come up with an excuse to get away, but Sai grabbed her wrists tightly and forced her back against the wall. He pressed his lips against hers, forced them open with his tongue, and held her in place with the weight of his body. Ino tried to fight him off but he was too strong for her.

It was in this compromising situation that she saw Shikamaru walk into the room and spot the two. He looked completely crushed, his only expression complete and utter anguish. Ino felt her heart break at the look on his face. She fought even harder against Sai, trying to break free and chase after the brunet who had bolted out of the room.

Suddenly, Sai was thrown off of her and Ino bolted out of the room and towards the front door. She didn't look back to see who had saved her; she had only one thing on her mind. She needed to explain things to Shikamaru.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura stood against a wall with Sasuke, mocking some of the drunker souls at the party. Sakura herself hadn't had any alcohol, not seeing the appeal in her current setting. Sasuke, on the other hand, had downed several shots of whiskey, but had since switched to coke. Sakura liked to think that the disgusted looks she had been throwing him all night had influenced his decision. The more logical side of her brain conceded that he probably just knew his limit and didn't want to end up totally smashed.<p>

Sakura downed the last of her coke and then moved away from the wall to find another drink. She'd only taken a few steps when the brooding punk once again joined her. Strangely, she found his presence comforting and didn't force him to stay away from her. The two walked in a comfortable silence throughout the house to find the kitchen. They were just walking past the stairs when Sakura froze.

The cause of her sudden stop was the sight of her sister pressed against the wall by Sai. The unabashed PDA had sent shivers up her spine, but it was the look on Ino's face that had halted her sister. Ino looked terrified, disgusted, and not at all like she was enjoying herself.

At her sister's expression, Sakura's blood boiled and her vision went red. All her thoughts turned to getting her sister out of her predicament and then murdering Sai. She started to move towards the pair, reaching out to do something to separate the two. She was saved from having to act by the intervention of Sasuke. He grabbed Sai by the collar and threw him down on the floor.

The minute Ino was free, she bolted from the room and Sakura bolted after her. She may not have made it public knowledge, but she cared deeply for her twin. At that moment, that care had formed into a protective drive. Sakura needed to know Ino was fine. Seeing her sister hurt was breaking her heart.

* * *

><p><em>To be continued<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**__ The beginning was fairly similar, but the major changes were in the new parts added to the end and the splitting of the chapter._

_Review and let me know what you thought!_


	10. Chapter 9: Your Drunken Behaviour

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Nine-**

**-Your Drunken Behaviour-**

Uchiha Sasuke stood over Sai, his breath hitching slightly. He hadn't really thought about what he was doing while he had acted. He'd simply reacted to the emotions in the room. Both Ino and Sakura looked nearly devastated and Sasuke knew he had to do something to remedy the situation. So he had reached out, grabbed Sai by the collar, and thrown him to the ground.

Sasuke had wanted to do more, had wanted to continually bury his fists in Sai's smug face, but he restrained himself. Sakura had run off after her sister and Sasuke felt an urge to chase after her and ensure she was fine. He removed his hand from Sai's collar, stepped away and allowed Sai to stand up.

"You'll pay for this, Uchiha!" Sai called as Sasuke walked out of the room after the Sarutobi sisters.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura caught up to her sister at the front door. She placed a hand on her sister's shoulder to stop the blonde from leaving. Ino turned to face the rosette, tears streaming down her face. Without any real thought to it, Sakura reached out and embraced her sister in a comforting hug.<p>

The Sarutobi sisters were usually at each other's throats, battling over one thing or another. It had been years since either had leaned on the other or stood up for the other. It just wasn't the type of relationship they had. So Sakura giving her sister comfort in a time of need was definitely out of left field.

"Let me go!" Ino screamed, pushing her sister away. "I do not need your pity, okay! I know you are better than me. I know you think I make stupid decisions. I do not need that right now. Just leave me the fuck alone!" Ino screamed the last of her words and then turned and bolted out the door.

Sakura stood frozen. She couldn't believe that her attempt at comfort, at a normal sisterly relationship, had been interpreted by Ino as the start of a speech. Is that what their relationship was now? Lectures and screaming matches but no love and comfort? It was a depressing thought, one Sakura wasn't ready to deal with. She had kept everyone at arms length to avoid getting hurt, but she'd always expected her sister would at least understand where she was coming from. She had always expected her sister to be there for her.

Now, she wasn't so sure.

Sakura's head was spinning with this information and tears welled up in her eyes. She did not want to feel the hurt that was coursing through her veins. She reached out for something to numb the pain and found a strong, alcoholic drink. Immediately, Sakura began downing drink after drink to numb the fact that her twin sister hated her.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru wasn't focusing on the party anymore. The loud, pounding music made no sound to his ears. The thrashing, drunken teens blurred together until no sole face was distinguishable. All smells ceased to register in his brain. All that mattered was getting out of there. He had tunnel vision and his eyes were honed on the front door.<p>

Self-deprecating thoughts raced through his mind with each step he took. At all his previous schools, he had easily avoided making connections. He ate lunch alone, surrounded by thick books. He didn't join clubs or teams and avoided extra-curricular activities like the plague. If he was forced to work with a partner or a group, he always chose different people. He walked home to avoid bus conversations and never reached out to anyone. He moved around so much that friends, or the lack thereof, didn't matter to him.

This time was different. Konoha was different. On the very first day, a peer had reached out to him and offered him a tour. Against all warnings and all previous behavior, he had agreed and began to forge a relationship. He wasn't sure why he'd agreed. At the time, he attributed it to simply wanting to figure out the school. Now, a few weeks after the fact, he couldn't seem to use the same excuse. There had been more than simply wanting directions that had propelled him to accept Chouji's offer of aid.

Shikamaru stopped. He had completely forgotten about Chouji, the first person he had considered a friend in many years. He had been so consumed with the idea of leaving that he hadn't thought about his friend. He knew Chouji was not a social butterfly and had only one to the party for Shikamaru. The Nara couldn't just leave Chouji there.

The brown-haired male turned to look for his friend, but came face to face with a cause of his current great beguile.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke found Sakura only a few minutes after he left Sai on the floor, but she'd already downed two drinks and was nearly half done her third. Having not seen the rosette drink all night, the sight caught him off guard. When Sakura went in for her fourth drink, Sasuke knew he had to do something. He quickly stepped towards Sakura, grabbed the red solo cup and downed it.<p>

"Trying to catch up to everyone else here in five minutes or less?" he asked, jokingly.

"That wasss mine!" Sakura responded, her words slurring slightly. She then turned and headed towards the kitchen, grabbing drinks from people's hands and downing them as she went. Something was definitely not right with Sakura. Something was obviously bothering her.

However, Sasuke wasn't allowed to dwell on the matter for very long. Sakura was hurriedly continued to indiscriminately down drink after drink and Sasuke had already decided to act as her caretaker for the evening and make sure she didn't hurt herself or do something stupid.

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten sat on one of the sole unsticky spots on the couch. It appeared that a significant number of the people in attendance had spilled more than they had consumed and, as a result, nearly every surface was sticky with alcohol. Tenten had not been drinking to excess that night. She'd had a few beers throughout the evening, choosing to enjoy the stupidity from afar.<p>

"That's ten," the soothing, deep baritone of her companion for the night commented. Yet another popular blonde twig had just emptied the contents of her stomach into a potted plant. Neji and Tenten had started the tally after three people had vomited within the span of an hour.

"I feel sorry for whoever has to clean this place," Tenten remarked.

"Even if it's Sai?" Neji inquired.

"Like Sai would every clean anything," she responded before chuckling slightly to herself at the image of Sai in one of those French maid outfits. She turned to look at Neji and saw that a small smile was pulling at the corners of his mouth. Despite not being one to attend parties of this sort, Tenten wasn't afraid to admit that she was enjoying herself. She was definitely glad she'd blurted out her feelings and convinced Neji to go with her.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke spent twenty minutes attempting to catch Sakura and stop her constant intake of alcohol. He had no idea what had happened between Ino and Sakura, but it had obviously greatly upset her. She had taken off too quickly and downed too many drinks for his to ask her though. All he could do now was chase after her.<p>

"Oi!" Sasuke called out to her when he finally reached the pink haired girl. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from downing her tenth or eleventh shot. At this close range, he could see the signs of intoxication clearly on her face. Her normally pale cheeks were now almost a shiny apple red and her eyes were glazed over and unfocused.

She put up some initial protests against Sasuke's grip, but quickly gave up. She was too drunk to care for long about the restraint around her arm.

Sasuke did not like something had bothered that Sakura so intensely that she had done this to herself. He had begun to allow himself to admit that feelings were beginning to form for Sakura in his dark heart. Seeing her in such a state knotted his stomach and made his chest ache. He needed to get her out of this situation.

He removed his hand from her wrist and took the shot from her hand. Sakura stood upright for a minute before she lost her balance and pitched forward. Sasuke caught her easily and hoisted her over his shoulder before heading towards the door. The party was over for Sakura, as far as he was concerned. Sasuke was taking her home before she did something she'd regret.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino stood before Shikamaru rendered speechless for the first time since she could remember. The hurt displayed so openly across his face cut deep into her heart. She had been the cause of that anguish, a new occurrence for her. The blonde's entire life up to that point had just been about making sure <em>she<em> was happy, healthy, and enjoying life. That moment, that expression on the brown haired male's face, made Ino rethink her entire life.

Sure, Sai had forced himself on her. Sure, she'd already decided he wasn't as amazing as she initially thought. But she'd still been playing Shikamaru before that. She'd used his interest in her to get something from him and hadn't planned to give him anything in return. She'd played with his feelings and emotions without even considering how it would effect him.

How many more Shikamarus were there? How many more people had she trampled over to get what she wanted? How many people had she hurt? How many people had she left feeling used? Questions tumbled through her mind, but there was only one she wanted to ask Shikamaru. She felt terrible asking him after what she had done to him, but she really had no other option.

"I know you hate me, and you have every right to. I was just hoping you'd give me the opportunity to explain and maybe drive me home?"

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke pulled Sakura's small red Prius up to her front walkway. Sakura had managed to get out that her dad didn't know about the car and that she usually kept it at Tenten's before her words were lost to drunken slurs. Shortly after that, Sakura was overcome by fatigue and instantly fallen asleep. Now Sasuke was faced with the near impossible task of getting a very inebriated Sakura passed her father and safely into her bed.<p>

He started nudging her gently, waking her from her drunken slumber. Even with the large quantity of alcohol in her system, it would be much easier to transport her while she was awake. It took a few tries –Sakura was very out of it- but eventually her eyes fluttered open and stayed open.

As she sleepily got her bearings, her eyes momentarily locked on Sasuke's. A strong, almost pulling sensation passed between the two. It was like they were caught in each other's gravity, and were slowly being brought towards each other. At the same time, a warm feeling erupted from his heart and spread through his body all he knew was that he wanted to be near Sakura and would do nearly anything to keep her close. Like two opposite ends of a magnet, the two slowly began gravitating towards each other.

Clarity suddenly flashed through the young Uchiha's mind. While he was thinking completely rationally at the moment, the same could not be said for his companion. The copious amount of alcohol she had consumed was definitely impairing her judgment and clouding her vision. He couldn't kiss her in this state, even though his body was urging him too. If he did, there was a good chance she would regret it in the morning.

Sasuke pulled back when they were mere millimeters from each other. Hurt and insult instantly flashed across her pale features, before a carefully practiced mask was able to once again conceal her emotions.

"Thank you for the ride. You can drop off at Tenten's tomorrow," Sakura icily spoke, much of her earlier slurring no longer present. It seemed Sasuke's harsh rejection had some sort of sobering effect on the rosette. Having said all she wished, Sakura quickly left the vehicle, slamming the door in the Uchiha's face.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru could not believe he had said yes to Ino's request after it had been made blatantly obvious that he had been used. He blamed his mother who had drilled into his head from an early age that he should always help a lady in need. And Ino had looked extremely upset. Also, even though she had basically trampled over his heart, he still found it nearly impossible to disappoint the petite blonde that he had agreed to such a masochistic favor.<p>

He had quickly dropped off Chouji at his house and then had to deal with one-on-one interactions with Ino for nearly ten minutes. It had been an almost silent drive through the ritzier part of town, the silence only broken by Ino's directions. It wasn't until they pulled up in front of the elegant, Victorian-style Sarutobi house, that Ino finally began to explain herself.

"I'm so sorry," she started, her face expressing her remorse, "I know it doesn't even begin to fix what I've done, but it's all I've got right now. I used, and abused, your friendship and willingness to help me. When I started the tutoring, I hadn't planned to use you. But when you asked me out, and I saw how much you wanted to go out with me, it presented an opportunity for me and I took it. I didn't even think of you and your feelings; I never do, or at least never used to. It was wrong, stupid, immature, and terrible of me.

"And I know it doesn't make it any better for you, in fact it makes me sound like a terrible person, but you aren't the only person I've done this to. Most of my relationships benefit me in some way, usually at the expense of the other person. It's a major personality flaw of mine, but now that it's come to light, I'm definitely going to work on changing it. I don't expect you to, but I'd really appreciate it if you could find it in yourself to forgive me, eventually. You're a great friend and I really don't want to loose what I have because of my stupidity and selfishness."

Ino finished her speech and waited. Shikamaru took in everything she'd said and digested it carefully. He was actually quite surprised by the words the blonde had spoke. From what he'd witnessed that night, she was selfish, conceited, and a royal bitch. He just hadn't expected she'd come out and admit it. But as self-deprecating as Ino's speech had been, Shikamaru still had a few words he wanted to express.

"You know, just because you're beautiful doesn't give you the right to treat people like they don't matter. I really like you, and I-" But Shikamaru never got to finish what he wanted to say. Shortly after he had declared Ino beautiful, she had leaned across the seats and kissed Shikamaru. It was short and chaste and, before Shikamaru could really enjoy it, Ino had pulled away.

"I am so sorry. I hurt you and I hope I haven't done so much damage that you'll hate me forever," she spoke softly. Then she left the stunned brunet sitting in his car, unable to move. He had hoped to stay mad at Ino until he moved once again; eventually he hoped he'd be able to forget her and move on. He hoped that she would easily, and without putting up too much of a fight, disappear from his life.

Then she'd gone and kissed him.

* * *

><p><em>To be continued<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__I changed the reason Sakura got drunk, and the situation Shikamaru found Ino in. Otherwise, this chapter was pretty much the same._


	11. Chapter 10: Your Cute Apologies

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above – **

_**A/N: **__This is NOT a 'new' chapter. I have spent the last year or so (with many, many distractions) rewriting this story and, in the process, have added a few 'extra' chapters (existing chapters that I added more too and felt had to be split). I suggest you go back and read my rewrites before continuing on as some details in the story have been changed._

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Ten-**

**-Your Cute Apologies-**

Ryuu Tenten had considered herself Sakura's best friend since the start of high school, four years previous. They had been through many ups and downs, many times of emotional distress and drama. However, as the brunette sat on her friend's deep purple bedspread, she could honestly say she had _never_ seen the rosette in such anguish. Sakura had gone from shaking with anger -complete with bulging veins and clenched teeth- to heart-wrenching sadness –complete with body-wracking sobs and near hysterical breath hitching. Finally Sakura descended into a self-deprecation Tenten had never associated with her self-assured and confident friend.

Sakura was currently sitting at the head of her large bed, her pillow clutched tightly in her arms as she squeezed her legs towards her torso. She was the epitome of meekness and Tenten was so out of her element that she didn't know the appropriate way to respond to her friend's obvious cries for help and comfort.

There had been a time in the rosette's life where behavior like this was a daily occurrence, but that had been before Tenten had known her. When Sakura was much younger, she had been meek, shy, and very self-conscious. Her quite, introverted behavior lasted until the start of middle school when Sakura's mother was diagnosed with lymphoma and given only a 40% chance of beating it. Sakura had been extremely close to her mother, more so than a typical mother-daughter relationship, and had been absolutely devastated by the prospect of losing her mother.

The emotions that began to form in the soul of the petite rosette were such strong feelings of grief, anger, confusion, and anguish that they slowly began consuming her entire being. Sakura was slowly pulled down into a dark depressing place and had become a person that no one recognized. Eventually though, the feelings became so strong and overpowering that, if Sakura continued to allow them to control her, she would be completely overcome by them and left in a dark, depressing hole.

As a coping mechanism, Sakura began to teach herself not to feel. She knew that if she were to cut off her emotions completely she'd become a sociopath, and she definitely wasn't looking for that. She was simply looking for a manageable spot where her emotions wouldn't be so strong and all consuming. The spot she found disallowed extremely happy and extremely depressing emotions, but left her snarky, sarcastic, and angry.

When her mother finally passed away only days before the twins thirteenth birthday, after valiantly battling her illness for the past two years, Sakrua's new dark unfeeling persona was cemented. She was no longer meek, no longer shy, and most of all no longer joyful. The new attitude and personality Sakura had cultivated was causing havoc and stress for her father, however.

In an effort to return Sakura to her previous feeling personality, Sarutobi Asuma sent Sakura to a therapist the summer before she started high school. It was there, at the brunette's father's office, was where Tenten and Sakura had met.

They had grown almost as close as two people possibly could in the time they had known each other and could fearlessly say they knew each other as well as, if not better, than they knew themselves. However, even with all that knowledge, in her current situation, Tenten felt like a fish out of water.

She had no idea what to say to bring her friend back to the girl she knew. And so, she just sat there, trying to create a comforting environment, hoping that Sakura would be able to bring herself back without much help.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke knew he had messed up. Big time. He wasn't entirely sure what he had done; girls could be so touchy and confusing sometimes. He, however, was completely positive that she was furious with him. The force with which Sakura had slammed his car door had made that transparently clear.<p>

But that fact wasn't the sole occupant of his dark, troubled mind. What was really the focus of his thoughts was the way he felt about the fact that she was mad at him. It bothered him. It was a new feeling for him, to be bothered by someone not liking him. He had never cared if he upset people before. Something about Sakura being mad at him was causing him great beguile. He felt crippling pangs of sadness, guilt, and a myriad of other equally potent, equally depressing emotions.

Sasuke dragged his hand through his hair and groaned in frustration. He didn't like the idea, but the evidence was staring him in the face. Sakura had wormed her way into his life and was now affecting him to such an extent that he had lost his well-practiced ability to control his emotions. He had to do something about his current situation before every last emotion he had been suppressing for years broke free. He considered his options and one became more and more prominent. The only problem was that option meant walking away from Sakura, and he just couldn't convince himself to do so.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru sat atop the bleachers and watched the girl's soccer team practice in the pitch below. However, his mind was miles away from his current surroundings. His focus was on how he'd spent his weekend, surely one of the best he had ever experienced.<p>

Admittedly, it hadn't started off all that great; Sai's party had been anything but a pleasant experience. His heart had felt like it was breaking; he felt like he was drowning and didn't know which way was up. He felt like his life had been completely turned on its head, and definitely not for the better. And then everything changed.

He had just been contemplating extricating Ino from his life, and crawling back into the shell he normally lived in, when she'd suddenly kissed him. It was a simple, sweet kiss, lasting barely ten seconds, but it was the most spectacular ten seconds of his life. As Ino pulled away, Shikamaru found his world rearranged for the second time that evening. He could no longer envision a near future that didn't include her.

Ino then left the car, and left Shikamaru, feeling substantially empty and alone. As she shut the boor behind her, Shikamaru felt the warmth that had filled his insides dissipate. He needed Ino near him; with her gone, he just didn't feel complete.

Shikamaru waited until Ino had entered her house, and closed the door behind her before driving off into the night. He decided in that moment that he would do whatever he needed to do in order to keep Ino in his life.

He started by sending the blonde a casual text the next morning and conversing with her for the rest of the day. He felt more confident behind his cellphone. He was able to carry a conversation without the normal compressing stress that come with face-to-face interactions. The conversation flowed easily as they discussed their day, their family, their friends, and their interests. He ended the conversation by inviting her out for coffee. He knew that it would be more difficult to talk to Ino when he could see her reactions, but he decided he could deal with that so long as he could see her.

And when they met up at a local Starbucks the next day, Shikamaru felt much less awkward. He had a fantastic time talking to Ino and spending time with her. He didn't want the time to end; he wanted to simply be in her presence forever. And, if Ino's near-constant smile was genuine then Shikamaru was fairly certain Ino was starting to feel the same way. They parted with the promise to spend more time like this. Shikamaru was in complete bliss.

However, his bliss was short-lived. Uchiha Sasuke had approached him moments ago with a huge, possibly disastrous problem. It would appear that Uchiha Sasuke had royally screwed up.

For all the differences the Sarutobi twins possessed, they apparently had at least one thing in common. On the night of Sai's party, both sisters had attempted to further their relationships in the same manner. Though, where Ino had succeeded, Sakura had been blatantly rejected and thoroughly embarrassed. Her hatred for Sasuke ran deep enough that, as he crossed the pitch moments earlier, she had kicked a soccer ball at his head. She missed her target, but Shikamaru knew she'd missed on purpose. She was simply sending the raven haired male a message; she could inflict large amounts of pain on him whenever she chose.

This was a major problem for Shikamaru. If Sakura wasn't going to give Sasuke the time of day, then her father wouldn't let Shikamaru near his youngest daughter in any capacity besides tutor. He needed to do something about the Sasuke-Sakura situation, and fast.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke found that his day passed excruciatingly slow. Each hour stretched out until it seemed there was no end in sight. He felt as if her were walking through the halls with metal shoes, having to put everything he had into the simple action of taking another step towards the end of the day.<p>

By the time the final bell rang, Sasuke felt about ready to saw himself in half with a toothbrush. He knew he needed to apologize to Sakura. He couldn't remover her from his life; it was no longer the option he thought it might be. Every second Sakura was mad at him and not in his life brought stabs of pain to his chest. He needed to make things better with Sakura to stop the pain that was threatening to tear him in half. He didn't fancy the idea of being in two halves.

He'd thought about how he would go about apologizing all day, even enlisting Shikamaru's help. He'd come to the solution while walking passed an English class that was discussing the works of William Shakespeare. It sparked a memory of an off-handed comment Sakura had made.

The first thing he did, once he had flashed out his plan, was call Neji. The most important part of his plan was that Sakura be present, and Neji could convince Tenten to do just that.

After he was sure Sakura would be at the theater at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, he moved on to the next step of his plan. It required a fair amount of capital, but Sasuke had plenty of that thanks to Sai's near-constant influx of cash. He had no qualms with using it; it wasn't a motivating factor in his spending time with Sakura. He spent time with her because he _wanted_ to do it, not because someone was paying him. And he was apologizing to her, not because Shikamaru wanted him to, but because he couldn't stand not being with her. It was a purely selfish act, and one he desperately hoped would work.

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Neji stood beside an unusually cheerful Tenten at the back of the school theater. They had successfully convinced Sakura that it would be worth her while to come by telling her the drama club was rehearsing scenes from Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew'. It worked for two reasons. The first was that Sakura loved everything about 'The Taming of the Shrew'. She found the character Katherina both relatable and inspiring. The second reason was that the school's drama club was horrendous; they had next to no talent to speak of and Sakura always found them endlessly hilarious.<p>

But Neji's focus on Sakura ended there. In fact, he wasn't even following the goings-on on stage. He knew Sasuke's apology would be happening soon but he didn't really care. He was solely focused on the female bouncing beside him. He had already admitted that he found her both completely fascinating and incredibly intimidating. It seemed that the more time he spent in her presence, the more he wanted to know about her. This cheerful, bubbly, bouncy girl was a side he'd yet to see. Even though he lived in the darkness and liked to surround himself in it, he found he was enjoying this side of her.

Suddenly, Tenten burst out into peels of pure joy-filled laughter, and Neji found himself turning to see what was causing her such joy. His eyes landed on the stage just as his friend stepped onto the stage, dressed in traditional Elizabethan garb.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura was captivated. For once, the drama club was doing a decent job of acting, which was good because she might have murdered them all if they destroyed her favourite play. She was riveted to the stage as Petruchio, Bianca, Lucentio, Katherina, and the rest of the cast told the story of the 'shrewish' Katherina and Petruchio's quest to 'tame' her.<p>

The players were just about to act out her favourite scene when a strange occurrence took place. The actor playing Petruchio suddenly left the stage not on cue. Sakura knew the play inside and out, and was utterly bewildered by such an event. However, all of her uncertainties were answered in he following seconds.

Uchiha Sasuke, the man who had weaseled his way into her life to such an extent that he had affected her emotional stability and embarrassed her, sauntered onto the stage. He was dressed in traditional Shakespearean clothing, a fairly ridiculous look for the punk. When he reached the center of the stage, he began reciting Petruchio's lines.

"_I'll attend her here,_

_And woo her with some spirit when she comes._

_Say that she rail, why then I'll tell her plain_

_She sings as sweetly as a nightingale:_

_Say that she frown, I'll say she looks as clear_

_As morning roses newly washed with dew:_

_Say she be mute and will not speak a word,_

_Then I'll commend her volubility._

_And say she uttereth piercing eloquence:_

_If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks_

_As though she bid me stay by her a week:_

_If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day_

_When I shall ask the banns and when be married._

_But here she comes, and now, Petruchio speak"_

He paused at the cue for Katherina to enter the stage and looked right into Sakura's eyes. It was as if he was taunting her, daring her to come up on stage and play the Katherina to his Petruchio. She made up her mind not to move an inch, when the theater doors opened and streams of students flooded in. they sat down, filling the empty chairs and staring up at the stage. Most people recognized Sasuke and instantly broke out into peals of hysterical laughter at the sight of the nasty punk in such strange garb.

Sakura could see the embarrassment and dread filling Sasuke's face; she could tell that he was regretting his decision to get up on stage and then invite the entire school to watch. And suddenly, Sakura began to hate him a little less. He had subjected _himself_ to this embarrassment in an attempt to make _her_ feel better. No one had ever gone to such lengths for her.

A large smile crossed her face as she jumped up on stage and acted her heart out as Katherina, the shrew.

* * *

><p><em>To be continued<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__Only six more chapters left, two more to be rewritten. I will not be sad to complete this story. It's taken up too much of my life!_

_Review and let me know what you thought!_


	12. Chapter 11: Your Unnecessary Worrying

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above – **

_**A/N: **__Still not a new chapter. A few more rewritten chapters before there will be a new one._

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Eleven-**

**-Your Unnecessary Worrying-**

Ryuu Tenten could not believe what she had just witnessed. Her cynical, judgmental, non-participatory friend had voluntarily jumped onto the stage to aid the man only mere hours ago she had been inventively cursing out. She wasn't sure if she would ever completely understand her friend. For the moment, she decided she'd give up trying and simply enjoy the show.

When it was over, Tenten's cheeks ached and her sides hurt. She hadn't laughed and smiled that much in years. It was very out of character for her. But she had simply enjoyed herself so much that she could not contain her joy like she'd been doing for years. She cheered, laughed, and bounced like she was once again a young girl unaffected by the weight of the world.

She'd wanted to express her joy with her friend, but Neji had whisked her out of the theatre as soon as the final curtain had closed. She had wanted to protest, but then she saw the nervous expression on his face. She chose to go along with him to deduce what had made him so nervous.

They walked until they reached a deserted section of the hallways. Neji shifted nervously on the balls of his feet and stared at the floor. Tenten began to feel uneasy at his strange behavior. She was about to say something to him when he looked up and began talking.

"Every year, my uncle throws a Halloween dinner for his colleges, purchasers, and competition. I usually have to escort my cousin, but it appears she has found a date. That leaves me free and I was wondering if you'd consider being my date." Neji spoke quicker than normal, and took very few breaths.

For the hundredth time in the past hour, a large joyful smile crossed the brunette's face.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura sat in her Advanced Calculus class, absent-mindedly copying the lyrics of the song she had stuck in her mind at the time. It was a defense mechanism created by her subconscious to shelter her from the complete and total boredom that the combination of complex math equations and her teacher's monotone voice created. Normally, she would rely on her best friend for distraction, but the brunette was suspiciously absent from school.<p>

When Sakura had gone to pick up Tenten and her car that morning Tenten's old Chinese grandmother answered the door. The grey haired woman told a very shocked Sakura, in very fractured Japanese, that Tenten was sick and would not be at school that day. Tenten was never sick. She had a superhuman immune system. And, on the rare occasion that she was feeling under the weather, she dragged herself out of bed and wandered the halls, filled with mucus and phlegm. Needles to say, Sakura didn't believe a word of what the old Chinese woman had told her.

Yet, Sakura had no proof, and she was much too terrified of the old Chinese woman to confront her about her suspicions. So she was forced to sit through boring class after boring class without the reprieve her best friend provided. By the period before lunch, the incredibly dull Advanced Calculus class, Sakura had had enough.

A plan began to form in her head and a smile crossed her face at the thought of the sweet freedom she would soon enjoy. In the middle of the lecture on limits, Sakura rose from her desk, gathered her books and simply headed to the door. She was far too bored to have come up with a sneaky plan of escape, but this one worked just as well.

Everyone was frozen by her brash defiance and no one made a move to stop her. It wasn't until her hand was around the doorknob that the sensei regained himself enough to voice the question running continuously through his mind.

"And where do you think you're going?" he inquired. However, his words fell of deaf ears as the door swung shut behind her. She was finally free of the insane boredom!

* * *

><p>Akimichi Chouji closed the door of his locker, a smile on his face as he hummed a catchy tune that had been playing on the radio that morning. Turning away from his locker with the intention of heading down the hallway, Chouji was stopped in his tracks by the extremely close presence of a petite blonde. Chouji jumped in alarm and wondered to himself how she had managed to sneak up on him, how long she'd been standing there, and why she was there in the first place. Chouji and Ino had gone to school together since preschool, yet Ino hadn't acknowledged his presence once. Why was she talking to him now?<p>

"C-c-c-can I help you?" he stuttered out, taken aback by the rarity of such an event.

"You're Shikamaru's friend right?" Ino asked, not even a hit of the strangeness of the situation in her voice. It made Chouji feel foolish; he was the only one who found the situation weird. He decided to try and move passed the weirdness so he wouldn't embarrass himself in front of the popular blonde.

"Yeah…" he stated, dragging out his word into a question.

"Well," she began, her voice full of popular venom, "can you ask him a question for me?"

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten squinted her eyes and cocked her head to the left as she examined the image before her. It was truly a strange sight, and she was having difficulty perceiving it with objectivity. The rarity of it was throwing her off; she had only worn a dress three times in her entire seventeen years. The first two occurred in her formative years before she had much say in the matter. The third was in eighth grade, prior to her personality adjustment.<p>

One of her brother's friends had invited her to junior prom. Tenten had been extremely excited; prior to the invite, boys hadn't taken much of an interest in her. She spent hours getting ready, convinced her mom to buy a very expensive dress, and actually attempted to look halfway decent. Then, when her date was supposed to pick her up, the limo simply rolled on passed the house; the occupants were all pointing and laughing at the sad little girl who actually thought a high school boy had any romantic interest in her.

Her therapist would later point to this as the turning point in her emotional darkening. It was this event that made her a rebellious, rule-breaking, loner-type who didn't trust many people.

But that was beside the point. The only common element between that night and this one was that she was wearing a dress. Or at least, that was what she was hoping.

When Neji asked her to the annual Hyuuga banquet, Tenten had smiled a hundred-kilowatt smile for several hours. Her heart had begun to race and climbed into her throat. Then the moment passed and the usual doubt and insecurity crept in. She never let herself get too close to people because it had only ever led to pain and suffering; even Sakura had taken a while to worm her way into the brunette's life.

Tenten instantly began questioning what her relationship with Neji was; what did it mean to him and did it line up with what it meant to her? Too often in her past the answer to the last question was a resounding no.

Her stomach had tightened, as her thoughts turned to what would happen if this was just like all the other relationships she'd had. Her stomach had become so tight and twisted that she had convinced her parents that she was sick and should stay home from school. She had spent the better part of the morning trying to unknot her stomach to no avail. She was laying in her bed, trying to calm herself down when Sakura burst into her room and immediately began demanding an answer as to why she had skipped school without Sakura.

However, once Sakura took a moment to actually look at her friend, Tenten could tell the rosette no longer cared about herself. Sakura instantly switched into her rarely seen caring-friend mode, and wrapped her arms tightly around her friend. That was all it took for the wall Tenten had slowly been building that day to break and all of her worries to come pouring out. Once everything was out in the open, Sakura took a step back from her friend; she stood there silently contemplating the brunette before eventually speaking.

"Well, I personally think you look gorgeous. Tonight is going to go extremely well; you have nothing to worry about. I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" the brunette retaliated, doubt rapidly spreading into her voice.

"Because you are a fantastic person, and not everyone is like your messed up family and their nutcase friends. Normal people don't mess with people's heads and hearts just for shits and giggles."

As much as Tenten trusted her friend and wanted to believe every word she said, the brunette's past experience told her a very different story. It wasn't just her family and their friends who treated people like plastic cups, useful for a time, but eventually thrown away. She had seen it time and time again with a myriad of different people in nearly every imaginable situation. In her world, you either played or got played. Either way, not getting emotionally attached was the only way to make it out alive.

"Experience tells me differently. Every day, people treat others like trash; it's just a fact of life," the brunette muttered, more to herself than to her friend. Sakura opened her mouth to rebuke Tenten, but a knock at the door stopped her.

Who is it?" Tenten called, formality running through her voice. She had been raised to respect her elders, which was everyone in her house.

"It is me, darling. I have something for you," the old, gravelly voice of her grandmother spoke in Chinese from the other side of the door. Tenten shot her friend a look telling her to be quiet and then beckoned her grandmother into the room. She really didn't want to let her in; the Chinese women could read her like a child's book. She would instantly know all of Tenten's worries and concerns.

The door opened slowly, eventually revealing the hunched form of the old Chinese woman. Clutched tightly in her hand was a small black velvet.

"This necklace was given to me by your grandfather many years ago. You should wear it tonight to your party. It will bring you luck- darling, what is wrong?" Tenten had been right. The instant her grandmother had taken a good look at her, the older woman knew something was bothering her.

"It is nothing, grandmother," she tried to brush it off, but knew her grandmother wouldn't buy it.

"Do not play that game with me. I can read it on your face. Now tell me what troubles you." The older woman took a seat on the bed and patted the spot beside her. Sakura took the hint and vacated the room, through Tenten knew she wouldn't go far; this was going to be a good story and Sakura surely wouldn't want to miss it. Tenten slowly trudged over to the bed, her simple, knee length black dress swaying as she moved.

"I'm worried, grandmother," she began, smoothing out the skirt of her dress, "what if- what if he's like all the others?" It was all she could manage to vocalize. Her stone façade had become riddled with cracks and she was worried that if she spoke her heart's concerns her shell would break. Luckily, her grandmother knew perfectly well what the brunette meant.

"Over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse. Over a long period of time, you get to know what's in a person's heart," the old lady spoke, matter-of-factly before standing up to leave. Had Tenten not spent her entire lifetime in the same house as the old Chinese woman, she would have been utterly confused by the words. She knew her grandmother only gave advice in the form of proverbs. She believed that advice shouldn't solve the problem, just get you going in the right direction.

As the door clicked lightly closed, Tenten made a decision. After all, her grandmother never led her astray.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Asuma was getting rather tired. He had been putting up with the repercussions of Sakura's attitude for nearly five years and he wasn't sure how much more he could take. He was glad that in a few months, she would be off to college and having to deal with her own consequences.<p>

His current source of consternation was a blaring ring from his phone. He had checked the caller ID after the first ring, and let out a deep sigh. It read Senju High School, as it had at least twice a week for the past three years. He knew why they were calling; it was always the same reason. Sakura had done something terrible.

They could be calling for something good Ino had done, but that wasn't very likely. It was with that hopeful, yet unlikely, thought that he picked up the phone. An automated message answered his exhausted 'hello.'

"Sarutobi-san, this is Senju High School calling. A student in your household-" the recording clicked off as someone on the other end picked up the phone. Asuma allowed hope to fill his being while he awaited an end to that sentence.

"Sarutobi-san?" a familiar voice questioned.

"Hai," he responded, his voice growing stronger with each passing second.

"Allow me a minute to patch you through to Tsunade-sama." Asuma's assurance level skyrocketed. Normal matters of delinquency were never relayed to parents by the principal. This call must have been about Ino; maybe she'd won an award or something. When the generic hold music stopped, Asuma gathered himself to show the proper amount of enthusiasm. A smile crossed his face at the thought of what Ino could have possibly done to warrant a phone call.

"Hello, Sarutobi-san," the matter of fact voice of the principal sounded through the phone, "I'm calling about your daughter, Sakura…"

Asuma's heart dropped through the floor.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru felt the smile building with each word his friend spoke, but fought it for fear of looking like a lunatic. It wouldn't have been a completely insane conclusion either. Most people would not be happy that they had been yelled at, but in this situation, all Shikamaru could focus on was the fact that <em>he<em> had made Ino mad because he hadn't followed up on their kiss. He had never had such an effect on women and he was enjoying it immensely.

Finally, the smile became too much to suppress and it burst across his face, accompanied by a slight chuckle. The faint sound stopped Chouji, who had previously been relaying that afternoon's events. The rotund boy looked up at Shikamaru and, upon seeing the smile, became worried about his sanity.

"What's with the smile? Did Ino's angry comments knock a screw loose or something?" Chouji asked apprehensively, taking a step back and then inching closer. He was evidently unsure of whether to run away screaming or comfort his friend.

"Ino's upset," he stated, pausing to let out another chuckle only adding to his current maniacal image, "because _I_ didn't call her after we kissed! This had got to be one of the greatest days in human history!"

Once the words left his mouth, Shikamaru saw his friend ease. Shikamaru hadn't permanently lost his mind; it was simply a temporary episode caused by the extraordinary circumstances of the situation. After all, Ino was exceptionally extraordinary.

* * *

><p><em>To be continued<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**__ More of a filler chapter than anything, and was originally longer, but was split in half because of length. Therefore, one more chapter until the new ones are posted._

_Review and let me know what you thought! _


	13. Chapter 12: Your Infectious Smile

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**A/N: **__Not a new chapter yet! Next chapter will definitely be new!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content_

**-Chapter 12-**

**-Your Infectious Smile-**

Sarutobi Ino sat at the bus stop, a tabloid open on her lap, her legs swinging slightly in the breeze. On the outside, she was the picture of calm, a teenage girl without a care in the world. But truthfully, she was fighting a raging battle that did not match her peaceful exterior. Inside, her head was throwing difficult questions and confusing thoughts at her. She was desperately trying to make sense of her feelings and her current situation, but her head was not making it an easy task. And all this over a boy.

She had never liked someone like him before. He was a straight-laced, intelligent, studious, rule-follower. Definitely not her usual type. He wasn't popular, athletic, or confident. He was almost the polar opposite of the guy she normally chose.

Then there was the fact that only a few days ago, she had felt just as strongly for another boy. She had never changed her mind over a boy so quickly. Granted, he definitely hadn't been worth her time, but it still should have taken more than a few hours to get over him and move on to someone else. It took her weeks to get over even the simplest of crushes. She always put her entire self into her crushes and relationships. She figured that if she did, it became important; it meant something. Ino wasn't one to do things unless they meant something. Now she was doubting that, doubting herself.

She had switched so quickly, forgotten something that had seemed so important. If she could do that, then what did that mean for her current feelings? Could the same thing happen with them. Could she changer her mind again?

"Hey!"

The voice broke Ino from her thoughts and started her a little. She hadn't expected the subject of her thoughts to suddenly appear beside her on the bus bench. She smiled warmly at him instead of responding with words so as to give herself a moment to collect her thoughts. Deciding that she would worry about her previous train of thought when she was more sure about it, Ino chose to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Hey!" she responded, running a hand through her hair in a nervous habit.

"Chouji told me you were upset," Shikamaru said, his tone not at all what she had been expecting. Normally, when guys found out she was mad at them, they were scared, worried, or groveling. Shikamaru sounded confident and slightly cocky, not a normal response at all.

"I am. I'm very upset," Ino stated, trying to infuse her tone with as much anger and indignation as possible, thinking perhaps Shikamaru hadn't fully grasped the full implications of what it meant to have her upset. However, even with her tone, nothing about him changes. Not his posture. Not his expression. Not his eye contact.

"This is usually the part where the guy gets on his knees and begs for forgiveness. I can get pretty terrible when I'm mad, you know," she added, starting to doubt his intelligence. She was just about to make a comment to that effect when Shikamaru, exuding a confidence she had never seen him possess, leant towards her and pressed his lips to hers.

At first, she was surprised by the suddenness of it, but once the realization settled in, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, deepening the kiss. Their lips melded together, moving as if choreographed in an intricate dance. They pressed closer and closer. Their kiss quickly began heating up and intensifying.

"Hey, you kids!"

At the sound of the harsh, slightly hoarse voice the two sprung apart as if they were the same poles of a magnet. Ino turned to the street, and the direction of the voice, to see a plump, balding man sitting behind the wheel of the bus. She turned beet red and began hastily gathering her books and digging for her bus pass without making eye contact with anyone else.

When she was finished, she finally met Shikamaru's gaze and the two had similar dazed looks on their faces. Predicting that no more words would pass between them, Ino headed for the bus. She had just shown the bus driver her pass when a voice stopped her.

"Wait!" Shikamaru called, "meet me tonight!"

It looked as if he wanted to say more but the bus driver had closed the door and begun to move his foot towards the gas. Ino took the hint and found the nearest empty seat. A large smile crossed her face as the bus pulled away from the stop.

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten knew her friend could see right through the fake smile she had plastered on her face, but it was the best she could do at the moment. She knew she should have been excited about the night, as it was her first official date with Neji; she just couldn't seem to feel any emotions at the moment other than worry, panic, and concern.<p>

Her smile slipped as she stared up at the ominous Hyuuga estate. She turned to her friend for moral support and an excuse not to go. Unfortunately, she found neither fro her pink haired friend. Instead, Sakura simply gave her a wicked little grin and pushed her out of the car before hurrying off.

Tenten stood at the point where the road met the long, winding driveway, trying to make herself move. In the direction of home or up the driveway, she didn't really care where she went just as long as she moved. She felt very awkward standing in no mans land.

She inhaled a long, slow breath and collected her thoughts. Out of all the ones rushing around her head, one screamed out louder than all the others. _Over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse. Over a long period of time, you get to know what's in a person's heart._

With one final inhale. Tenten began walking. There was only one way she was ever going to work through her issues. Face them head on.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura walked in the front door after stashing her car back at Tenten's place. She was feeling very proud of herself, having helped her friend take the first steps to once again trusting people. Tenten may not have realized it at the moment, but she would surely thank Sakura later.<p>

The door clicked shut behind her and a light flicked on to her right. She jumped at the sudden burst of light and then went as stiff as a board as her mind processed what that would mean. The light had come from the living room where her father spent his evenings.

'Shit,' she thought as she moved towards the lights, and prepared herself for what was to come. Sakura knew exactly why he was upset with her. The school had undoubtedly called him about her disappearing act in calculus. It wouldn't be the fact that Sakura had skipped class that had pissed her dad off; he had long ago given up that battle. It was the fact that she had done it in front of her teacher that would have enraged her father. It was an egregious act of disrespect and that was something her father wouldn't tolerate. He had raised his girls better than that.

And that was exactly the lecture Sakura received.

Nearly half an hour after arriving home, Sakura was angrily pacing back and forth in her bedroom. She tossed books, clothes, and various other objects around her room as she ranted and raved about how sucky her family was. Normally, she'd have Tenten to vent to, but her friend was busy with her own life and issues at the moment. Sakura could only pace for so much longer before she punched a hole in the wall. She needed a better outlet.

Then a solution came to her. She was a little surprised and apprehensive about it though. Surprised that this was the first thing she thought of, that he was the first person she thought of. Apprehensive because she didn't know if she could use him as a solution. She spent a few more passes of her room debating it, then reached for her phone and dialed the seven digits she had recently committed to memory.

"Hmmmmm?" the deep voice answered, obviously distracted by something else he deemed more important.

"Why, hello to you to," Sakura responded, her tone dripping with scathing sarcasm. That instantly grabbed his undivided attention.

"Sakura?!" he exclaimed, momentarily letting his hard exterior crumble. Realizing what he had done, he quickly composed himself and added in his normal snarky tone, "What do you want?"

Sakura chuckled slightly to herself and allowed a small smile to creep across her face. She no longer felt the full intensity of her rage, no longer worried she'd made the wrong choice by calling him. With that one, single word, and the slip of his façade, Uchiha Sasuke had helped right the current wrongs in her life.

"I just wanted to hear your snarky condescending voice. I was feeling too high and mighty lately. Felt I needed to be brought down some," she responded, her tone uncharacteristically light and playful.

"Glad I could be of service," Sasuke deadpanned, "hey, what are your plans for tonight?" Sakura was initially caught off guard by the question, but quickly gathered herself.

"Probably scare trick-or-treaters, you?"

"Well, Neji and I have this tradition of Halloween night laser tag, but he is otherwise detained tonight, so I was wondering if you wanted to join me."

Sakura took a moment to consider his proposal. Sneaking out? With a boy she liked? While her father was mad at her?

"I'd love to!"

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino no longer had a smile on her face. As the hours ticked by and it got later and later, she became more and more worried. Shikamaru hadn't given her a time for their rendezvous that evening, but Ino had speculated it would be around 7:00 from past experiences. However, 7:00 had come and gone already, and so had 8:00, and 9:00, and 10:00. Ino had ben positive Shikamaru wasn't a bad boy; she had thought he didn't play mind games, or keep girls waiting for hours, or lead them on. Now, she was beginning to think she was wrong. He seemed to be acting exactly like all the other guys.<p>

Finally, at 11:50 her phone chirped, indicating she had a message.

_Outside, _it read, _come quickly. Don't want neighbors to see._

Ino paled. Shikamaru wasn't a bad boy, but he was asking her to defy her father and break curfew. He was asking her to choose between him, a man she barely knew and only just trusted, and her father, the man who had practically raised her by himself.

It took Ino only three seconds to decide what she wanted to do.

_Coming._

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten smiled as the room spun around her. She felt weightless, worry free, and happier than she could ever remember being. And she had Hyuuga Neji to thank for it. He had been a complete gentleman all night, and put her mind at ease.<p>

When she'd finally worked up the nerve to walk up the driveway and ring the doorbell, she was greeted by a harassed looking maid and told to head to the dinning room. After that, the maid had disappeared, leaving a confused Tenten standing in the entryway, unsure of where exactly to go. She was just about to turn to her right, when Neji approached from the left and saved her.

They walked through the vast labyrinth of hallways –Tenten would have definitely got lost if she'd ventured them on her own- holding pleasant conversation. Tenten's stomach was still in knots, but with each passing second they slowly began unraveling. Upon arriving at the dinning room, Neji pulled out her chair for her and whispered which utensil to use for each course. He shared with her pertinent background information and ensured she was included in conversation. He even stuck up for her when some family members made veiled rude comments about her.

Every thing he had done that night had shown how much of a gentlemen he was, and how much he wasn't like her brother's idiotic friend. Tenten couldn't help but roll her eyes at the fact that her grandmother was right, yet again.

The night was capped off with elegant dancing in the formal ballroom. As Tenten waltzed around the room, Neji's arms around her, Tenten couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face.

It finally seemed like life was starting to right itself after so many years of being completely wrong.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke crouched in a corner, his gun raised in the air, and his head swiveling back and forth. He scanned the immediate area, trying to find the tell-tail splash of pink. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw s flash. He stood quickly, aimed the gun, and pulled the trigger.<p>

"Fuck!" the disappointed shout filled the air. Sasuke had hit his target. "Okay, I give up. You can come out now."

Sasuke smiled to himself as he revealed himself. He and Sakura had been playing laser tag for the past half an hour and he had been kicking her butt. They had lucked out and, for the past half an hour, had the entire place to themselves.

"Aren't you a sore loser?" Sasuke teased.

"Aren't you a terrible cheat!" Sakura countered, "The stupid oath we had to take before playing this game explicitly stated that you can't squat, sit, or lay down!"

"And with that, I say we call this a night. Someone's cranky and should probably go to bed."

"Say that again Uchiha and you'll be walking funny for a week!" Sakura threatened, before heading to the exit to return her vest and gun. Sasuke followed, chuckling to himself at Sakura's antics. Over the past two months, Sasuke had been slowly falling for this crazy, temperamental, judgmental, pink haired girl. She had wormed her way into his life and under his thick wall that normally kept people out. She was now so important to him that if she were to disappear from his life, he would be devastated; it would be like loosing his parents all over again.

Pushing that depressing thought from his mind, he followed Sakura out of the dark, smoke-filled arena.

"I'm never going to play laser tag with you again. You cheat all the time; you take this game _way _to seriously. This is just for fun! You don't need to hide or sniper-hit people. That just takes the fun right out of it for other people. And, on top of all of that, you rub in your unfair victory like you didn't just che-"

Sasuke effectively ended Sakura's rant by leaning in and placing a quick kiss on her lips. He hadn't thought about it before, simply acted on impulse. When he pulled away, he instantly became worried that he'd done the wrong thing. Sakura was simply standing completely still, not even blinking, just gapping at him. Then she smile, and Sasuke felt his entire body relax.

"Aren't you glad _I _didn't turn _you_ away," Sakura ribbed. Sasuke smiled slightly in spite of himself; he sure was.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino could not believe what she'd just done. She must have been possessed, or ate some bad fish, or something. She had just acted in a very un-Ino-like way and there had to be an explanation for why. It couldn't simply be because a guy she fancied had asked her to; that was just too pathetic.<p>

However, even though she must have suffered an aneurism, she couldn't say she hadn't enjoyed herself. All they'd done was walk through Ino's neighborhood, stealthily avoiding any house that would possibly contact her father. Perhaps it was her present company that made the simple walk so fantastic, or maybe it was the fact that all this was forbidden.

After an hour of walking, and an entire lap around her neighborhood, they both decided that it was getting late and they should probably call it a night. In truth, Ino was nowhere ready to part from Shikamaru. She did, however, agree that it was getting late. So the pair, their hands intertwined, begrudgingly turned towards Ino's house. They snuck into the bushed underneath Ino's window to say their goodbyes.

"I had a really great time tonight. I still can't believe you got me to sneak out after midnight!" Ino whispered, worried that her father may hear her.

"I have my ways. I can be very persuasive when I want to," Shikamaru spoke coyly, before promptly bursting out into peals of laughter. Ino was instantly worried that her father would hear, and did the first thing she could think of to quiet him. She leaned in and kissed him, full on the lips. It wasn't their first kiss, but it was spectacular, magic, and amazing. When they broke apart for air, Ino had a large, ear-to-ear smile on her face.

"You have got to stop springing those kisses on me," Shikamaru complained, attempting to look perturbed, but failing miserably. At the sight, all thoughts of her father overhearing her, Ino burst out laughing.

* * *

><p><em>To be continued<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__Last of the rewrites! Next chapter is all new! Review and let me know what you thought!_


	14. Chapter 13: Your Irresistible Charm

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**A/N: **__This is the new chapter you've been waiting for for years!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Thirteen-**

**-Your Irresistible Charm-**

Nara Shikamaru walked into school the Monday after his amazing evening with Ino. He had a large smile on his face and nothing could remove it. He had never thought he could be this lucky. Sure, he'd liked Ino, but he didn't believe she would ever agree to go out with him; he'd hoped, he'd prayed, but he'd never believed.

"Hey man!" Chouji called to Shikamaru, "you must have had a good weekend." Chouji had no idea.

"It was the best weekend of my life, bar none," Shikamaru responded, turning to his locker and spinning the lock. He could tell Chouji was waiting for Shikamaru to explain, but he wanted the anticipation to build a little longer.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" Chouji asked after a minute or two. Shikamaru smiled to himself.

"Ino and I spent Friday night together," Shikamaru offered, trying to drag out his explanation for as long as possible, enjoying seeing Chouji squirm.

"You suck at sharing," Chouji finally responded, getting obviously frustrated with his friend.

"Fine, I'll tell you everything. I picked her up at midnight and we walked around her neighborhood for about an hour and a half. Then I took her home and kissed her goodnight. That's twice she's kissed me!" Shikamaru's smile increased as he relayed the information to his friend. He would never have guessed his year would turn out like this. When he had arrived at the new school, he had planned to stay in the shadows. He was glad now that he hadn't.

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten sat on the front hood of Sakura's car as they gazed out at the city stretched out before them. The two often came to this lookout atop a large hill just on the outskirts of town. Tenten and Sakura would skip a class or two and come here to talk.<p>

It was at this point that Sakura told Tenten about her mom and what it had felt like to go through that. Tenten had told Sakura about her uncaring, driven family and her brother's friend while over-looking the city. It's seclusion allowed for in depth, extremely personal conversations.

"And then she just left. So I'm standing there, wondering where the hell I'm supposed to go!" Tenten spoke, explaining to Sakura about her Thursday evening dinner with Neji. Tenten had been much too tired, and hung over, Friday morning to go to school. As a result, she'd been sitting on her story all weekend and was about to burst. The minute Sakura had arrived at her house Monday morning Tenten had insisted they have a girl-talk day.

"Well, she is a Hyuuga maid. She was probably told to act like a bitch to the undeserving," Sakura commented. They both chuckled to themselves.

"True. But then Neji came and he was a total gentleman the entire night. It was fantastic, and I was freaking out for nothing. I know, you were right!" Tenten could see the smile building on her friend's face at that last comment.

"I usually am," Sakura stated simply.

"Oh, so humble. How was you weekend? I heard through the grapevine that your father reamed you out."

"Would the 'grapevine' happen to have long brown hair and enjoy the color black?"

"Maybe, but you're avoiding the question. You're in awful good spirits if he did and I know you didn't rant to me to get over it. What happened?"

"My dad did ream me out. After I left Algebra the office called him and informed him of everything. And, because I walked out of class in the middle of it, and in front of a teacher, he flipped shit! I wanted to talk to you about it, but you were with Neji so I called… Sasuke."

"You did, did you? Out of everyone else you could have called to rant at, you picked him?" Tenten goaded.

"Yes, I called him. And he invited me out to laser tag. He's a terrible cheat by the way. Then he kissed me and I came back home, no longer pissed at my dad." Sakura stated the fact so simply Tenten had almost missed it. _Almost._

"HE KISSED YOU!" Tenten exclaimed. She was so excited she jumped off the hood of the car and started dancing around like a crazy person.

"It's not that big of a deal," Sakura spoke, attempting to calm her friend down.

"Oh no, Sakura, being kissed by the boy you're crazy about is a huge deal!"

"Not really," Sakura tried again, though Tenten could tell her friend wasn't really being entirely honest. Sakura was just as excited about the kiss as Tenten was.

* * *

><p>Inchiki Sai scanned the crowd of girls in tight t-shirts and short shorts looking for a particular blonde. He hadn't seen her in the two weeks since his party, but he refused to believe she was avoiding him. He was perfection; no one chose <span>not<span> to spend time with him. They clamored to spend time with him. She must have just been busy.

He had expected her to be excited to see him, especially since he had specially sought her out. He'd thought she would squeal with delight, jump up and down, smile widely, and be the embodiment of excited. He had never sought out a girl like this; they usually came to him. He was expecting a special reaction because of the extra effort he had put in.

He finally found Ino holding court amongst her friends as they stretched their muscles. Ino looked absolutely stunning in her small, tight gym outfit; Sai couldn't take his eyes off her. He set his face in his sexiest expression and began advancing towards Ino. She didn't see him until he was almost right beside her.

"Oh, hey," she stated simply, continuing to stretch. Her friends all began shifting and looking at the pair, obviously excited for their less-than-enthused friend. Sai was definitely upset about Ino's lack-luster greeting, but he couldn't express his dissatisfaction. He was courting her, attempting to get with her, he could not upset her in any way. He needed to act like she could do no wrong and was always right.

"Haven't seen you around lately," Sai offered, hoping she could explain her mysterious absence.

"Yeah sorry. I was just really busy with school and whatnot," she responded, avoiding direct eye contact. For a fraction of a second, Sai wondered if she could possibly be upset with him, but decided that couldn't be it. He had been very careful not to upset her. Plus, he was too awesome; even if he had upset her, she couldn't possibly stay mad at him.

"So, it's almost winter formal time," he tried again to engage Ino in conversation.

"Oh, I know! It's all we've talking about for the past week. What will our dresses look like? What color are they? Are we doing our nails? How are we doing our hair? How are we doing our makeup? What shoes are we wearing? There have been a lot of decisions that need to be made."

"I notice you didn't say anything about who you're going with. Which is surprising because it is obviously going to be me. I'll pick you up at 8:00?"

For a moment, Ino simply stared at him, obviously rendered speechless by her good fortune. Sai smirked at the effect he obviously had on the fairer sex.

"Yeah, 8:00 works for me," she responded after a few moments. She then turned back to her friends and continued to stretch. Sai was perturbed by her dismissal, but decided he'd gotten all he needed out of this interaction. He walked away feeling satisfied; the winter formal would be the last step in his plan to get Ino.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura walked into school three hours after the first bell had rung. She had spent the morning observing the city and catching up on the weekend's events with Tenten. It was definitely preferable to sitting through boring class after boring class attempting not to fall asleep.<p>

She reached her locker without incident. Normally, arriving this late meant running into the principal or one of her lackeys and having to sit through an hour-long lecture about the importance of attending school on a regular basis and that if she continued with her absences she may not graduate. Sakura had head it so many times that she could recite it back to Tsunade.

So, as Sakura walked into school, she was on the lookout for Tsuande and her shrill voice. She got to her locker without incident, but as she was grabbing her books for her afternoon classes, she heard footsteps coming towards her. She stiffened, preparing for the onslaught.

"You're extra late, today," a voice sounded behind her. However, instead of the shrill tones of Tsuande's voice, this voice was deep.

"You're one to talk," Sakura responded, closing her locker door and revealing Sasuke standing there.

"All I try is to be nice and yet you're always so mean," Sasuke jested, fake hurt racing through his tone. Sakura laughed at him and began heading towards her class. Sasuke jogged slightly to catch up with her and then fell into step beside the rosette.

"I wanted to ask you," Sasuke began after a few seconds of silence, "Are you planning on going to the winter formal? I know it's probably not your usual scene but I think it could be halfway decent if we went together."

"Not gonna happen Uchiha," Sakura stated simply before turning into the girls bathroom to escape from him. As much as she enjoyed spending time with him, she would never go to a school dance. It was the last thing she would ever want to do, no matter who it was with.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru quickly weaved throughout the throngs of students heading out for the day. He hadn't seen Ino all day and desperately wanted to ask her about the winter formal. He would have asked her earlier, except he had only heard about it that morning. Now he was racing through the crowded school entryway, attempting to catch Ino before she got on the bus and he lost his resolve. As confident as Shikamaru was in this new relationship, he still had difficulties asking Ino out. Fear of rejection was always in the back of his mind.<p>

"Ino!" he called once he had cleared the mass of teens and spotted the blonde sitting on a fence, engrossed in a book. She looked up from her book and a smile crossed her face.

"Hey, Shikamaru! How are you? I haven't seen you all day," she spoke, closing her book.

"I'm good. Have you heard about the winter formal? Who am I kidding? Of course you have! You're better connected than I am. Plus you've been going to this school for years; you would know about major events like this. Anyway, wouldyouwantogowithme?" Shikamaru had spoken his little speech all in one breath, some of his words blurring and blending together as a result. Ino stared at him for a minute, obviously attempting to decipher what he had just said. After a few painful seconds, she spoke.

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch that last part. What did you ask?"

Shikamaru took a deep breath, mentally reminded himself to go slowly, and asked again.

"Would you like to go to the winter formal with me?"

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura walked in to her room Thursday afternoon, looking forward to collapsing onto her bed and surfing the web for a few hours. She'd had a very difficult week with teachers being exceptionally boring, school work being more difficult that normal, and Uchiha Sasuke continually asking her to the dance. All she wanted was to let it all slip away and loose herself in the vast Internet.<p>

She pilled open her laptop and heard the telltale sounds of her instant messenger. Knowing she'd regret it the moment she opened it, Sakura clicked the blinking icon anyway. Five separate message boxes instantly sprung open. Each one held the exact same words' they were the very same words she'd heard each day that week from a certain raven-haired male.

_Will you go to the winter formal with me?_

Sakura sighed in annoyance, rolled her eyes and angrily typed her response.

_Why do you want to go with me so badly? The formal doesn't exactly seem like something you'd enjoy…_

Sakura then closed her messenger window, opened the Internet window, and began frying her brain cells with stupid videos and idiotic memes and pictures. She'd only been aimlessly perusing the web for five minutes when her messenger pinged once more.

_I enjoy spending time with you. Plus I have decided that with this being my last year. I want to experience high school so I can adequately oppose it and make fun of it._

Sakura had to admit that made sense. She had been actively avoiding stereotypical high school activities to the best of her ability since she'd entered the ninth grade. She had mercilessly mocked every single one, but maybe she had been missing something. By not going to any, she didn't have any firsthand knowledge on them. She had simply been going off accounts of those who had been there, and Hollywood depictions of them. Perhaps actually going to some would give her more information to adequately mock, like Sasuke suggested.

Sakura took a deep breath, positioned her fingers over the keys and began typing her reply. She couldn't believe what she was about to do.

_You have a point. I guess I'll go to the dance with you._

* * *

><p>Ryuu Tenten stood at the end of the long winding driveway. The last time she had stood there, she had to force herself to walk up it. Now, she was trying to persuade herself out of storming up it. When Sakura had texted her twenty minutes ago to relay her good news, rage had almost instantly consumed her. She had fled her house and marched straight to the end of the driveway.<p>

She had a moment of clarity when she'd arrived and took a moment to try and talk herself out of what she was about to do. However, she found no motivation to turn around, so she ascended the winding driveway and angrily rapt on the door. After angrily yelling at a maid to let her in and direct her to Neji's bedroom, she stormed down the Hyuuga manor hallways.

"Neji! Open the door! I need to talk to you!" she shouted as she banged on his door. It opened seconds later, revealing a very surprised Neji.

"Tenten? What are you doing here? Why are you shouting?"

"I'm shouting because I'm mad at you!" Neji looked down the hallway, obviously seeing if her volume was attracting a crowd.

"How about we discuss this in my room, where there are less gossipy ears to overhear," he spoke hesitantly as he placed his hand on her elbow and led her in to his immaculate room. "Now why are you mad at me?"

"I am mad because I thought there was something between us. I thought I felt it at you uncle's dinner; I thought there were feelings developing between us. I guess I was mistaken though. My bad. I'll leave you alone now." Having finished all she wanted to say, Tenten turned to leave. At that moment, she was still far too angry to feel the sorrow, depression, or heartache that would inevitably hit her.

"You weren't mistaken," Neji spoke quietly. Tenten froze in her retreat. "There is something between us; there are feelings developing and growing. Why would you assume different?"

"Because you didn't ask me out to the dance. I know that's stupid, and supremely girly, but it's how I feel. At first, I didn't care really; the dance is most likely not your scene. But Sasuke has been bugging Sakura to go all week. If Sasuke wants to go, you shouldn't have as many objections. Plus, going with me would make it extra fun. Yet, you haven't so much as hinted at it!"

A silence fell between the two. Tenten couldn't believe she'd said what she had. She was not usually the express-your-feelings type. She usually repressed everything, pushed it down as far as humanly possible.

The silence stretched on so long that Tenten was beginning to wonder in Neji was ever going to say anything. Maybe she'd been to forward, put him on the spot, and now he was trying to come up with an excuse. She was just about to save him the effort and leave when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask you. I just assumed that because Sakura was so against it, you would be to. I shouldn't have assumed anything and just asked. So, with that being said, do you want to go to the winter formal with me?"

* * *

><p><em>To be continued<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__First new chapter done! Hope you like it! Only four more chapters to go until this story is finally complete!_


	15. Chapter 14: Your Slow Preparations

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Fourteen-**

**-Your Slow Preparations-**

Sarutobi Asuma could not believe his eyes. The past few years had created a well-established routine. Sakura skipped class; Ino never missed a day. Sakura rebelled against him and yelled at him; Ino followed his orders and dutifully obeyed him. Ino got involved in extra-circulars and attended school events; Sakura avoided them like the plague. Which was why Asuma couldn't believe his eyes.

BOTH of his daughters were frantically running around attempting to prepare themselves for what was, in Ino's words, 'the fourth most important night of her life.' When his daughters had first approached him about the winter formal, he was sure he'd heard them wrong.

He'd been sitting at his desk in his home office, buried in his never-ending piles of paperwork. A light knock on the door pulled his attention from it. The softness of the knock denoted Ino was on the other side; Sakura would have pounded on the thick wood. He invited her in and waited as she and Sakura settled into the room. The appearance of both his daughters signaled that something was up. The two sisters hadn't gotten along in years. If they'd put aside their differences, they definitely wanted something big, and wanted it badly.

Ino spoke first. It was a well-choreographed dance, honed over years of trial and error. Ino would go first, use her charm and play the daddy's little girl card. If that didn't work, Sakura stepped up and discussed logic, reasoning, and listed the consequences, showing they'd thought about it. Finally, Ino would break out the puppy dog pout and the crocodile tears. It had taken Asuma a while to figure out their ploy and even longer to build up immunity to it; now, however, he was prepared to shoot down whatever it was that had his daughters conspiring together.

It could only be trouble.

"Daddy," Ino began, her voice sickly sweet, "Sakura and I were wondering, you being so kind and loving, if you would consider lifting your rule. This is a special occasion after all, and I know you only want us to be happy. Well, allowing this would make us so extremely happy. Plus, we wouldn't ask for another thing for the rest of the year." Ino stopped her speech and looked up at him with large, round eyes. Asuma wasn't so easily taken.

"And which rule, exactly, do you want me to lift?" he asked, arching his eyebrow and relaxing back into his chair. His rules, while plentiful, were put in place for his daughters' protection. It would take a lot of convincing to get him to even consider lifting one of them.

"Our curfew, for starters," Sakura piped up. Her sister shot her a withering look and mouthed for her to shut up. Asuma had been correct in assuming that his daughters had conspired together. Apparently, Sakura had just deviated from their plan.

"For starters?" Asuma asked, his eyebrow rising even further. He didn't like where things were headed. It sounded like a lot of stress, worry, and anger for him.

Ino gave her sister one last quieting glare and then turned back to him, her face once again set in a sweet and innocent expression.

"We'd also like you to consider lifting your dating rule. There's this guy that I'd really like to go with, and it would mean the world to me if you would let me." Ino blinked her eyes in rapid succession, awaiting his response. However, Asuma was unsure of his response. He felt like he was missing a key piece of information that would make his daughter's request clear.

"And where would you be going with this boy?"

Ino quickly turned to her sister before she responded.

"The Winter Formal, Daddy. We'd both really like to go, but it doesn't start until 9:30; since out curfew is 11:00 that would give us barely and hour. With that amount of time, it's almost not worth going at all. That's why we'd like you to extend our curfew, say around 1:00. Also, it is a dance; I do need a dancing partner."

Asuma now knew exactly what his daughters wanted. All he had left to do was turn them down and make it clear that he wasn't willing to break two rules for a dance. That was just asking for trouble.

"Look girls," he began, his voice alluding to his answer. However, before he could say any more, Sakura stepped in.

"I know asking you to forgive two rules is a lot. So what if we only ask for one?" By the expression on Ino's face, Sakura's compromise had not been previously discussed between the two. Ino was throwing her sister looks that demanded she stop talking before she ruined things. Sakura returned Ino's looks with one of her own, then turned and waited for her father's response.

"Go on," Asuma prodded.

"Well, your rule for dating is that Ino can date when I do. So, following logic, if I have a date to the dance then Ino can go with her dude and not have to ask you to reconsider. The only rule you'd have to lift is our curfew, and that's not asking for a lot." Sakura finished her speech and stared her father down. This was Sakura's tactic: use logic; offer a compromise; stare them down.

Asuma was quiet, contemplating all that his girls were asking and offering. In reality, it wasn't a lot to ask for. They wanted their curfew extended a few hours, that was all. For two almost eighteen-year-olds, 1:00 was not that late to be out, especially not at a school function. However, Asuma was not willing to give his daughters permission to go to the dance. All he kept thinking about were the terrible things that could go on there, all the trouble they could get into. To him, they were still little, and seven, and innocent.

"We are almost eighteen, dad," Sakura spoke, interrupting his thoughts, "in a few months, we'll both be off to college, living on our own and making our own decisions. You need to be able to trust us that we won't do anything stupid or illegal or that you would disapprove of. Give us a chance."

Sometimes, Asuma hated how logical Sakura could be when she put her mind to it. It was nearly impossible to refute her. They were almost eighteen and headed off to college. He wouldn't be able to watch over them and enforce his rules. He needed to trust that they wouldn't do anything stupid or illegal. He really should give them an opportunity to prove they were trustworthy.

"Fine," Asuma spoke, expelling a large breath as he did, "you can go to the dance, and stay out until 1:00, but no later." Ino began to squeal and jump around at his words. "On one condition," he continued, silencing Ino, "I want to meet your dates first."

The girls readily agreed to his stipulation, and then exited, excitedly discussing the dance and various topics related to it.

Now, he sat on the sofa in the living room, watching as his two polar opposite daughters raced around the house, preparing for the dance. Something in the pit of his stomach was giving him an uneasy feeling about everything. He hoped he was mistaken.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru examined himself in the mirror for the twelfth time that evening. Chouji chuckled from his perch on the brown haired teen's bed, but Shikamaru simply ignored him. Chouji could laugh and poke fun all he wanted, but Shikamaru was determined to make to the night perfect. There was a lot riding on it, so if he was slightly obsessed with his appearance that night, he felt it was justified.<p>

Checking his appearance one final time for good measure, he then turned to his friend. Chouji was trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

"You ready to leave now, princess?" the pudgy teen inquired, the final few words of his sentence lost to the laughter he was no longer able to contain. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes at his 'friend' and grabbed his suit jacket.

"When you find the love of your life, you'll understand it," he stated as he walked out the door of his bedroom, leaving his friend to his uncontrollable laughter.

* * *

><p>Hyuuga Neji's head whipped towards his door at the sound of a soft knock. He called for the individual knocking to enter and a few seconds later a servant appeared in the doorway, a pair of extremely shiny black shoes in her hand.<p>

"Your shoes, Hyuuga-san," she spoke, softly placing them on the bed then bowing out of the room. Neji turned back to the mirror in front of him as he fixed his shirt cuffs and completed the finishing touches on his appearance.

A chuckle to his right once again stole his attention away from is task at hand. He looked in the direction it had come from to find his friend emerging from the bathroom. Sasuke had arrived at Neji's house and hour ago –twenty minutes late- and promptly barricaded himself in the bathroom. Now, with his emergence, Neji was finally made privy to what Sasuke had been up to for the past hour.

He wore tailored black pants and a dark blue dress shirt with several buttons left undone. His hair was gelled and spiked with not a single hair out of place. Neji guessed it was the hair that had taken the largest portion of the hour.

"What are you laughing about? Your servants do practically everything for you; I don't know how you function when they're not around," Neji ribbed.

"I was laughing at the fact that you actually got your shoes shined. This dance must be _really _important." Sasuke moved towards Neji's large bed and began putting on his black dress shoes; Neji had half expected Sasuke to wear his ever-present clunky leather boots.

"For your information, it is important. Isn't it to you?" Neji responded, turning from the mirror to find his shoes. Sasuke paused in his lace tying to think over Neji's words.

"Yeah. Yeah it is," Sasuke finally admitted. He smiled slightly to himself then returned to tying his shoes.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino was seconds away from grabbing her sister's dyed pink hair and yanking her large head out of the small bathroom mirror. Initially, getting ready together in Ino's room had seemed like a good idea. Ino was annoyed with her cronies and didn't have the patience to deal with them during such a stressful time. However, she still needed a female to help her get ready –do her hair, makeup, and nails. In the past few weeks, Ino and Sakura had been mending their fractured relationship, so Ino asked her sister to aid her. Now she was regretting it.<p>

Shikamaru would be picking her up in fifteen minutes and she'd only completed one eye. Sakura, who didn't care about her appearance, had been hogging the mirror. For half a second, Ino thought Sakura may be doing it just to annoy the blonde. However, Ino quickly brushed that off; not even her sister was that cruel.

"Are you almost done? I still have an eye to do!" Ino finally spoke, her frustration clear. Sakura turned from the mirror and Ino gasped. Her sister's trademark dark eye makeup was replaced with a stunning soft green. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

"Haha, very funny!" Sakura responded, pushing passed her sister and vacating the bathroom. Ino was momentarily puzzled by her sister's uncharacteristic appearance, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and focused on finishing her makeup.

Not a minute after Ino had put the finishing touches on herself, the doorbell rang. Ino quickly grabbed her eyeliner, mascara, and lip-gloss in case touchups were needed and her small, deep purple clutch. She then quickly headed towards the door.

She rushed through the upstairs hallways, excited to see Shikamaru and head out to the dance. Though, as she approached the top of the stairs, she slowed to a slow walk, not wanting to appear too eager. She slowly walked to the staircase, slowly and elegantly walking into view of the people gathered in front of the door below. Standing there waiting were Ino's sister Sakura in a long light green dress, her sister's friend Tenten, and the three boys wearing various combinations of dress pants, shirts, and jackets. Ino made to walk just as slowly down the stairs when her sister's annoyed voice called out.

"Stop being so dramatic and get your ass down the stairs already! People are waiting on you!" Ino bit her lip to keep from lashing out at her sister. She was beginning to wonder why she wanted to fix her relationship with such an impossible person.

* * *

><p>Inchiki Sai pulled up in front of the Victorian house. He quickly checked his hair in the rear-view mirror, ensuring not a hair was out of place. After being absolutely positive that he was looking his best, which was not a difficult feat for him, he exited his car and headed towards the front door.<p>

He was more concerned with his looks tonight than usual, which was already a huge concern for him, because the night needed to be perfect. The party he had thrown several weeks ago had failed to adequately seduce Ino, so this was his last chance. For one, he had already spent more time on her than any other girl he had ever wanted. For another, he would not be able to top a night like this in terms of romantic atmosphere and the level of specialness of the night. If something didn't happen tonight, Sai was going to cut his losses and move on.

He walked up the drive way and the intricate stone walkway and knocked on the front door. Several seconds passed before the door opened, revealing a tall muscular, very imposing man. Had Sai been any less self-confident, the man would have intimidated him. As it were, Sai simply put on his trademark grin and turned on the charm.

"Hello, sir. My name is Sai. I'm here to pick up your daughter Ino for the dance." The other man smiled at him, and Sai felt even more confident than he had before.

"You're about twenty minutes to late," the other man responded before closing the door in Sai's face. The young, dark haired male was left standing on the doorstep, blinking in surprise.

_-To be continued-_

_**A/N: **__Three more chapters and then this crazy, long journey I've taken you on will finally be over. Review and let me know what you thought! More drama to come!_


	16. Chapter 15: Your Lies, Lines, and Games

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Fifteen-**

**-Your Lines, Lies, and Games-**

Inchiki Sai stood in the doorway, staring at the large oak door that had been closed in his face only moments before. He couldn't believe that a parent had done that to him. Parents usually loved him. Despite his, what some had described as pig-like behavior, Sai had always been able to charm parents into thinking he was the most fantastic young man in the world.

He momentarily considered knocking on the door once more and attempting to turn this parent to his side, but he had more important concerns at that moment. Seeing as he wouldn't get to Ino through the front door, he pulled out his phone and sent her a quick text. He then walked back to his car to wait for Ino to come down from her room.

He turned on the radio of his car and, not wanted to waste the time, began texting with another one of his perspective conquests. He quickly became engrossed in the conversation and lost track of time. When he finally looked up from his phone, twenty minutes had passed and Ino was nowhere to be seen. She also hadn't texted him back. He sent her one more text, asking where she was.

Sai was very conscious that he only had a limited number of texts he could send before he began looking desperate. However, after nothing Ino-related occurred in the next ten minutes, Sai was left with a conundrum. Three texts in a half an hour with no response was, in Sai's opinion, breeching desperation, but he had no other way to contact Ino.

Finally, after sitting in his car another five minutes, deciding what to do, Sai sent Ino one final text.

_I'm done waiting. Meet u the dance._

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino's phone vibrated in her small purple clutch. She could feel it through the leather, but chose to ignore it. The girl who was normally glued to her phone was enjoying actual human interaction too much to be concerned with the devise. She sat at a table with Shikamaru, her date for the night, her sister, her sister's date, and her sister's friend and her date. It was a group of people that Ino would have never imagined her getting along with, let alone enjoying herself with. Yet that is exactly what she was experiencing.<p>

She could see her normal group of friends a few tables away, throwing her questioning looks and occasionally beckoning her to join them and their dates. She hadn't told her friends that she was coming to the dance with Shikamaru she'd hoped they'd be too preoccupied with themselves and their dates to notice her. Now, she was just trying her best to ignore them outright. Turning her attention away from the group that was almost glaring daggers into her, Ino focused on her date for the night.

"Let's dance!" she exclaimed suddenly as one of her favorite songs began to play. Not waiting for a response, she placed her purse on the table in the care of her sister, grabbed Shikamaru's hand and pulled him out onto the dance floor. Ino began shaking her hips and dancing around to the up beat song; Shikamaru on the other hand stood awkwardly, bobbing slightly to the beat. Upon noticing Shikamaru's odd dancing, Ino stopped her dancing and looked at the brown haired male quizzically.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice more amused than judgmental.

"Dancing?" Shikamaru responded, the question clear in his tone. Ino giggled in response.

"Even you aren't sure what you're doing," she joked. Ino then took his hands in hers. "Let me show you how it's done." She then spent the next few songs relaxing Shikamaru and showing him some of the popular dance styles she knew. Both were obviously enjoying themselves, laughing the entire time.

However, Ino's mood instantly changed when she looked up at some point and saw her 'best friend' Ami, hands on her hips, glaring Ino down.

"Come to the bathroom with me," Ami demanded, her voice clipped. "We need to talk." Ino told Shikamaru to wait for her back at the table and she begrudgingly followed Ami to the bathroom. This was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura sat at the elegantly decorated table, watching her friends act in a very out of character manner. Tenten was giggling and laughing and acting generally joyful. Very atypical behavior for the usual stoic, unemotional brunette. Sakura was happy to see her friend like that. After so much sadness and difficulty in her life, the brunette deserved some happiness. Sakura must have been smiling at the sight and the thought, because Sasuke leaned over and whispered in her ear.<p>

"Careful, Sakura, with an expression like that, people will start thinking you're going soft." Sakura turned away from her friend to face him, sending him a playful scowl.

"I am the farthest thing from soft," Sakura rebutted, playfully punching him lightly on the arm to emphasize her point. However, even as she did, a smile crossed her face and a slight chuckle escaped her lips.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're right. You are the epitome of hard stoicism," Sasuke playfully shot back.

"You two are so cute together," Ino interjected as she returned to her seat from the bathroom. Sakura rolled her eyes at her sister, but didn't counter her statement. Ino, however, didn't notice Sakura's lack of rebuttal because she had turned to her date and was busy discussing something with him.

"I know you're going for this whole 'tough' persona, but…" Sasuke whispered in her ear, drawing her attention away from her sister and back to him. He was smiling like a guilty little child.

"Yes…" Sakura responded, slightly worried by his expression.

"Let's dance!" Sasuke spoke, standing up and giving her his hand. Sakura gave him an 'are-you-kidding-me' look and hesitated for a few seconds, not wanting to appear too eager, but eventually took his hand. Sasuke pulled her up and led her out into the crowd of dancing students.

Just as the pair got into position on the dance floor, the up-beat music that had been playing for the past several hours ceased and was replaced by a slow song. Sakura simply stood frozen in place, staring up at Sasuke, slightly panic-stricken. It was one thing to step out of her normal realm of behavior and dance around to up-beat pop songs. It was a completely other cup of tea to slow dance.

Sakura was still in slight shock when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She looked up at Sasuke and saw the hesitant, slightly questioning smile on his face. It was an expression that Sakura had yet to see on his face; he was always so self-assured and confident, or at least portrayed himself as such. It greatly enthused Sakura to think he was willing to let his guard down slightly with her. She wound her arms around his neck and the two punks began swaying to the slow beats.

Sakura was sure that anyone who saw the sight was finding it extremely hard to believe.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino followed Ami into the bathroom. The minute the two girls entered, they both turned towards the sinks and mirrors. While Ino had no real desire or need to 'freshen up' her make up, she still pulled out her lip-gloss and began re-applying it. She glanced over at Ami every few seconds, wondering when the other girl would stop fixing her eye makeup and get to the actual point of their trip to their bathroom.<p>

Ino finished applying her lip-gloss, popped the lid back on and turned to face her 'friend.' Ami, however, paid the blonde no attention and continued staring right at the mirror, meticulously fixing her makeup. Ino quickly grew impatient.

"Look, Ami, I do not have time for your stupid mind games, or whatever it is you're doing. Say your peace and let me get back to the dance, or I'm just gonna walk away right now." Ino put her hands on her hips and stared her one-time friend down. Ami lowered her mascara brush extremely slowly and pivoted to face the exceptionally annoyed blonde.

"What do you think you're doing? You could have said Sai was your date! Instead, you take the nerdy strange new kid! Are you trying to commit social suicide?" Ami's voice got higher and louder as she talked. Ino rolled her eyes at her vapid, vain friend.

"You know, Ami, at some point in your life, you'll grow up and realize being popular isn't everything. It doesn't extend to far past high school and it isn't worth all that much in the real world. I've realized it; in fact, I've know it for years and was just waiting for the right person to give me the courage to finally act upon it. You can have Sai and all the popularity, for all I care." She then popped her lip-gloss back into her purse and left the bathroom. Ami simply stood still, her mouth agape.

* * *

><p>Inchiki Sai pulled up at the school, quickly parking his car and checking his phone. No text from Ino. He then emerged from his car, fixed his suit and began walking to the building. He would find one of her silly friends and ask if they'd seen her. If they hadn't, Sai decided he'd forget about Ino and just sleep with whichever friend he'd found. He wasn't going to waste the night, or the suit.<p>

He walked into the busy dance hall, students thrashing and grinding on the dance floor. He quickly scanned the crowd and found a petite dark haired girl in a short, tight dress, pressing herself up against some dazed guy. Recognizing her as Ino's best friend Ami, he walked up towards her and her dance partner.

"Leave," he said to the blotchy-faced man, who immediately shrunk away from the harsh tone. He mumbled and stuttered something before disappearing into the crowd. Ami stood still, her hands on her hips and a faux unamused expression on her face.

"You scared away my date," she accused, her voice filled with insincere disdain. Sai rolled his eyes at the act, but played along anyway.

"Wouldn't you rather have me?"

"I thought you were taking Ino, not that she seems to have remembered." Ami muttered the last part under her breath, but Sai still caught it. His interest peaked.

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice loosing its pervious sensual silkiness.

"Ino seems to have forgotten about your date arrangements. She's here with that loser new kid and won't listen to reason. Maybe you'll be able to convince her," Ami looked at him expectantly.

"Where?" Sai asked, his blood beginning to boil with rage. Ami waved non-discriminately off to her left, towards the crowd of people. Sai sighed, clutched his fists, and marched into the student body in search of a girl who was causing him far too much trouble.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru once again found himself on the dance floor, Ino held in the protective embrace of his arms as they slow danced with the rest of the student body. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he held it back for fear of looking too eager and coming across as a geek or a loser.<p>

"I'm having a really good time," he stated. Ino, who was significantly shorter than him even in her heels, looked up at him with a wide grin on her face.

"Me too. I'm glad I came with you and not-" suddenly, Ino's smile dropped off her face, "-Sai!" Ino squeaked out. Shikamaru turned, deducing that whatever had caused Ino's change in attitude was located behind him. He saw Sai, angrily walking towards the pair, his fist clenched. When he was within striking distance, Sai threw his fist up and hit Shikamaru straight in the nose.

"What the fuck are you doing here with him?!" Sai spat at Ino. The blonde, who had crouched down to check on Shikamaru, stood back up at Sai's venomous words. "I am paying that idiot punk to take out your sister so I could date you, not some loser!"

"What?!" a surprised voice sounded from behind the trio. They turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw Ino's sister Sakura, shock, horror, and anger flashing across her face.

The next few moments passed in a blur to the Nara, who was still on the floor, his head swimming slightly. All he was able to garner was that shit had hit the fan and his once perfect evening was quickly ruined.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura was on cloud nine. It was an extremely rare feeling for the rosette; pure joy was something she hadn't felt since her mother passed away. That was what she felt at that moment, dancing with Sasuke. She'd only really known him for four months, yet he was able to make her feel things she had been burying deep down for years. And Sakura didn't hate it.<p>

A commotion behind the pair drew Sakura's attention away from Sasuke and her joyful emotions. She turned to see the shallow, annoying Sai socking her sister's date in the nose and causing him to topple to the floor. Ino instantly bent down to help her date.

"I am paying that idiot punk to take out your sister so I could date you, not some loser!" Sai seethed. Sakura's jaw dropped.

"What?!" she exclaimed. Suddenly, all eyes were on her. Her head began swimming and her heart began beating as fast as a racehorse. What did Sai mean he was paying Sasuke? Did Sasuke even like her? Or was he only spending time with her for the money? Sakura began feeling suffocated and decided she needed to get out of the crowded dance hall and think through everything.

She quickly began pushing through students and wildly attempting to get out. once she was free of the crowd, she began running for the door and then out towards the night. Before she got to the exit door, an arm wrapped around her wrist, halting her. She turned to see an extremely worried Sasuke.

"Please let me explain," he spoke, his voice pleading. Wanting an explanation, Sakura allowed him to continue. "Initially, I was only taking you out for the money, but-" Sakura didn't let him continue.

She wrenched her arm out of his grasp and slapped him across the face.

"I don't ever want to see you again," she spat, then continued out into the night where, for the first time in years, she broke down in tears. A few minutes later, her sister arrived and wound her arms around the sobbing rosette.

For several minutes, the pair sat on the curb, Sakura crying and Ino comforting.

_-To be continued-_

_**A/N:**__ Two more chapters! Let me know what you thought of this chapter please!_


	17. Chapter 16: Your Change of Character

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Sixteen-**

**-Your Change of Character-**

Sarutobi Sakura lay on her bed, her music blaring throughout the house. Earlier, her dad had come to ask her to turn it down; she turned it louder. Normally, her father would have gotten angry and begun yelling and arguing. However, the look of absolute anguish on Sakura's face as she defiantly increased the volume held Asuma back. He could tell she was trying to hide the pain behind her normal surly mask, but it still came through clearly. He had then slunk out of the room and went to purchase earplugs.

Sakura's phone chirped, indicating a text message. She rolled over to check it and saw the twentieth message from Sasuke. Without even reading the message, she rolled back and continued staring at her ceiling.

After spending nearly twenty minutes sitting outside the dance with her sister, Sakura told Ino to go back in and enjoy herself. Then Sakura had walked the distance home by herself. She spent the nearly ninety minutes it took replaying the past three months in her head, trying to see if she'd missed something. When she got home, much earlier than she was expected, she'd quickly run to her room and locked the door, avoiding her nosey dad. She'd collapsed on her bed and hadn't moved much in the following twelve hours.

Her phone chimed again, but this time she didn't even bother looking at it. She knew she should give him the chance to try and explain himself, but she was still too upset to even read his texts. Instead, she increased her music even louder and drowned out the chirping of her phone.

Only seconds after she turned up her music, a knock sounded on the door. Not wanting to argue with her dad over the volume, she sat up a little and yelled.

"Go away! I'm not turning my music down no matter what you say!" Despite Sakura's words, the door to her room opened. Sakura raised her head slightly, ready to glare down her father only to find her sister closing the door behind her.

"Good thin that's not why I'm here!" Ino yelled back. She then made her way across the room and sat next to her sister on the bed. "Can we talk?" Sakura was silent and immobile for several seconds before she raised her hand and turned down the music so it played softly in the background.

"I make no promises about my mood," Sakura replied.

"No need for the disclaimer. It's to be expected from you," Ino spoke, her tone light. Sakura was silent for several seconds so Ino took the opportunity to lie down beside her sister.

"I'm sorry," Sakura replied after several seconds. She really was sorry. She hated that her sister expected a foul mood from her and had come to accept it. Ino seemed surprised by the comment because she rolled onto her side and looked down at Sakura.

"I'm sorry that our relationship has become toxic, for lack of a batter word. We used to be each other's best friends and then it all went to shit after mom. And it's all my fault. I didn't handle her death in a good way at all." Sakura, in the past few months, had been doing some soul searching and come to realize that by blocking out her emotions, by not feeling the loss of her mother, she'd hurt herself and drove those closest to her away.

"No, and I really needed my sister at that moment," Ino replied, having rolled back onto her back.

"From now on, I'll let you and dad in more," Sakura promised, and she truly meant to keep that promise.

"That'd be nice," Ino replied. The two sisters then lapsed into silence, laying on Sakura's bed and staring at the ceiling. Twenty minutes later, when Asuma came back, he found his daughters curled up together on Sakura's bed, asleep.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino anxiously paced outside her sister's bedroom door. Even with their heart to heart the day before, she was still a little hesitant to barge in. added to that hesitation was the fact that her sister was still deep in the throws of heartbreak; Ino was unsure if she should bother her sister at such a vulnerable time. However, the echo of the conversation from the previous day compelled Ino to enter the room.<p>

Sakura had moved from the bed and now sat at her desk. Her headphones were in and she alternated between quickly typing on her laptop and scribbling into her notebook. It was obvious to Ino that Sakura was busy working on her music. Normally, Ino would back out of the room and try back later when her sister wasn't busy. At that moment, though, Ino had such confidence running through her veins from the conversation that she pushed forward.

She slid across the floor and tapped her sister on the shoulder. Sakura jumped in surprise and quickly removed her headphones. Her face displayed its typical anger and frustration, but Ino saw softer emotions beneath them.

"Hey," Ino said, innocently.

"Hey…" Sakura responded, question and hesitation clear in her tone.

"I know you're in like sweat-pant phase of your breakup right now, but Shikamaru and I are going to the Lilac Festival and were wondering if you'd like to come. Maybe it'd help get your mind off things," Ino asked, hoping that she sounded convincing. Sakura was silent for a few seconds, hopefully contemplating Ino's proposition.

"Tenten's coming over in an hour and we're working on music and stuff. You just go the two of you. But thanks for the invite." Ino nodded in understanding and Sakura put her headphones back in and turned back to her computer. Ino left her sister, felling good about her interaction with her sister for the first time in years, even if she hadn't been successful.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru walked a few steps behind Ino, snacking on some dried fruit. Ino was skipping as she weaved in and out of the crowd and in between the booths. Her pure joy was contagious and Shikamaru soon found himself smiling. In his joy, he nearly forgot his main task for the night.<p>

Less than a minute after Sakura had run out of the dance hall, Ino had politely excused herself and chased after her sister. As soon as the females had left, Sasuke turned to Sai, smiling at the drama he had created. Sasuke clocked the smug teen right in the nose. He would have continued to pummel the annoying bastard, but Neji –who had been dancing nearby- jumped in and dragged his friend away from the situation. Shikamaru followed and found the two sitting at the table, Sasuke sitting with his head in his hands.

"He okay?" Shikamaru asked Neji, nodding his head in the direction of Sasuke. It was obvious Sasuke wasn't, but Shikamaru didn't know what else to say.

"I need your help," Sasuke suddenly spoke. Neji and Shikamaru turned from each other and focused on the dark haired male, his head still in his hands.

"What?" they both asked.

"I've messed up. Sakura is extremely mad at me. For good reason. But that's not what it is; I wasn't doing it for the money. She needs to know that, and you have to help me because she'll talk to you." Shikamaru swallowed before he answered.

"I can try and talk to her, but I don't know how effective I'll be. She doesn't really know me so I don't know if she'll buy what I'm selling."

"No, I'm not expecting you to talk to her. You just need to help me get her to me and keep her from leaving so I can explain myself."

Shikamaru had agreed to help Sasuke because he truly believed him. He had quickly decided that he needed to get Ino on his side too. He needed to tell Ino everything and convince her that, while he was being paid, Sasuke was not dating her sister for the money.

Shikamaru had planned to begin his pleas at the festival, knowing that Ino would be in a good mood. However, he had become distracted and quickly forgotten his plan. He finally remembered it just as the pair were leaving the festival.

Ino was skipping gleefully in front of him, heading to the last booth at the festival. Shikamaru decided it was now or never and gathered his courage. She was enthusiastically talking to the booth owner about his wares when Shikamaru came up beside her and broached the subject.

"It's a pity your sister couldn't join us," he spoke innocently, trying to make his voice sound a little sad at the fact. He was only marginally successful because of a mixture of nerves and excitement. Ino seemed to register it, but only slightly.

"Yeah, but she had already made plans with Tenten so she couldn't come. I'm sure she would have come otherwise," Ino spoke, turning her attention away from the vendor.

"Do you think she would have? She isn't too upset or depressed or…?" Shikamaru's final unspoken word hung between the two before Ino finally answered.

"Honestly, I don't think she would have come. Sasuke really hurt her. She'd been so closed off since our mother's death, and she was finally opening up with him. She trusted him enough to start to show the real her and then he and that asshole Sai just crushed her. It'll take some time for her to be up to going to festivals and enjoying herself again." Ino spoke, fiddling with one of the trinkets on sale. Shikamaru was silent as he gathered the courage for what he was about to do.

"I need to tell you something, and I hope you don't hate me for it." Ino looked at him expectantly and with slight concern. "I'm the reason your sister got her heat broken."

"I know," Ino responded. Shikamaru was taken completely off guard by her statement.

"You know?"

"Yes. Don't you remember? I was the person that convinced you to find someone for my sister so I could date you, though I really wanted to date Sai. If anyone is responsible for all this, following your logic, it's me. But really, Sai is the reason for everything. He opened his big fat mouth and ruined Sakura's happiness. I don't blame you for anything any more than I blame myself."

"You mean you're not mad?"

"No. Well, not at you or me at least. I am mad at Sai for opening his big mouth and ruining my sister's happiness."

"But it wasn't all Sai. Sasuke was accepting money to date your sister." Shikamaru wasn't sure why he had said it. Ino wasn't mad at him, but with each word he spoke it seemed he wanted her to be.

"Sasuke may have been accepting money from Sai, but that wasn't why he was spending time with my sister." Ino replied as she gave the booth vendor some money for a trinket.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked. He knew it was the truth because Sasuke had told him as much, but he had no clue how Ino could have known.

"Sasuke really likes my sister; he genuinely wants to spend time with her. You can tell by the way he acts around her and the way he looks at her." Shikamaru was shocked, but ecstatic by what he heard.

"Well, if you know that, then would you be willing to help me fix things between Sasuke and your sister?"

"I've never seen my sister as happy as when she was with Sasuke. Of course I'll help. But my sister is extremely stubborn, so it'll have to be something spectacular to fix this." Shikamaru nodded; he knew what she said was true.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura was focused on her compositions when a loud throat clearing caught her attention. She pulled off her headphones and turned around to see her dad standing in her doorway with Tenten behind him.<p>

"When you invite friends over, you should be responsible for greeting them," Asuma stated before turning and leaving the girls.

"Yes, dad!" Sakura called after his retreating figure, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You seem chipper," Tenten commented as she entered the room and made her way towards the bed. She then threw herself down upon the bed, bouncing up slightly at the force of the impact.

"I've almost finished that song that was causing me issues," Sakura replied, turning back to her laptop and saving her work.

"Ooooh! Exciting! When will I get to hear it?" Tenten asked, sitting up.

"I'm still fine tuning," Sakura replied. Tenten rolled her eyes.

"You're always fine tuning. I've only heard like two out of the hundreds of songs you've written. You're super talented; you needed to share your gifts with the world!" Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend. Since Tenten had discovered that Sakura sang and wrote music, the brunette had become convinced that the rosette shouldn't keep it to herself. It had been years of the same thing, but Sakura wasn't having any of it. Her music was for her, not the world. Plus, studio time was expensive.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sakura waved off her friend on her bed. The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence that Sakura know was a result of her friend avoiding the topic she really wanted to discuss, Sakura's love life.

"So…" Tenten finally spoke after several minutes of silence, "How've you been?" Sakura could tell Tenten had wanted to say something else, but couldn't come up with anything.

"I've been better," Sakura replied honestly, "I just feel so used and betrayed." She flopped back onto her bed in frustration.

"Do you think you could ever let him explain himself and the situation?" Tenten asked, her voice hopeful.

Sakura was silent for several minutes as she really considered Tenten's question. Honestly, she wanted to hear his explanation, but she wasn't sure she could handle it now; she was just too angry at him.

"In time, yes. I'd like to hear him out. I'd like to know his side of what he was thinking. But I don't think I could now. If he showed up today, I'm pretty sure I'd punch him in the face." Tenten chuckled at her words, but said nothing.

In the silence, the girls heard a knock on the front door.

_-To be continued-_

_**A/N: **__One more chapter and then the story will be done! Finally!_

_Drop me a review!_


	18. Chapter 17: Absolutely Nothing

**-Hate, Love, and All of the Above-**

_**A/N:**__ Now, officially, done this story! Hope you enjoyed the ride!_

_**Disclaimer: **__I own none of the recognizable content._

**-Chapter Seventeen-**

**-Absolutely Nothing-**

Uchiha Sasuke stood outside the Sarutobi house, pacing on the large front porch. He had come over with his words all planned out, but they had left him the moment he steeped onto the Sarutobi's front walk. Now, he was pacing the porch, trying to recollect his thoughts before he even attempted to apologize to Sakura. Everything needed to go perfectly because their relationship had already hit so many speed bumps that he didn't need another.

Finally, after several minutes, he'd figured out his words and knocked on the door. There were several more minutes of silence before the door opened, revealing Sakura's father. He didn't look particularly upset, but Sasuke didn't want to risk it.

"Is Sakura here?" he asked, hesitantly. Asuma nodded, opened the door wider to allow Sasuke in, and then turned and started up the stairs. Sasuke, unsure if he was supposed to follow, simply stood in the foyer, awkwardly knocking his fists together.

"No! Not right now! Just tell him to go away!" Sakura's angry voice sounded from upstairs. Sasuke's heart dropped; she wasn't even willing to hear him out. Shikamaru had told him to wait until the brown haired male had talked to Sakura, but Sasuke couldn't wait. He felt absolutely terrible about how upset Sakura was and desperately wanted to fix it. However, as he stood in the foyer, listening to Sakura argue with her dad, he realized he'd gone about it wrong.

He quietly excused himself and closed the door behind him. He momentarily leaned against the door, feeling the weight of the events of the past few weeks. He could scarcely believe that this is what had become of his life. If someone had told him at the start of the year that, by the end of the semester he'd be standing outside a girl's house like a puppy, he would have gladly punched him or her out.

Deciding he must look absolutely pathetic, Sasuke pushed off the door and began down the pathway. He had parked down the block so as to not immediately alert Sakura to his presence, and so began heading that way upon reaching the sidewalk. About halfway to his car, his phone chirped, indicating a message. Sasuke pulled out his phone and read the message. It was from Shikamaru and was written in all caps.

_INO IS ON BOARD!_

Sasuke sighed, hoping that this new piece of news would actually be beneficial to him.

* * *

><p>Nara Shikamaru sat across from Sasuke and Neji at a corner booth at Fry Days. The boys, along with Ino, had all gathered to discuss their plan of attack to get Sakura to at least hear Sasuke out. However, they'd been sitting at the booth for over half an hour and had not come up with any solid plans at all. Shikamaru could tell that the group was getting frustrated.<p>

A few bars of music suddenly broke the sound of eating. Ino jumped up and hurriedly began digging through her bag. Once she found her phone, she stood from the booth, mouthed 'my sister' and headed out of the restaurant. Shikamaru, who had recognized the music as a Script song, jumped up after her, inspiration hitting him like a lightning bolt.

"The Script!" he exclaimed, looking at the other two expectantly, hoping they would clue in to what he was saying.

"The band?" Sasuke asked, not at all understanding what Shikamaru wanted him to.

"Yes! Sakura's _favourite_ band!"

"What about them?" Sasuke asked, his tone filled with confusion. Shikamaru was starting to get frustrated.

"We need something extraordinary to convince Sakura to even hear Sasuke out. If we do something amazing that makes her beyond happy, she'll be much more willing to forgive Sasuke. And that amazing thing is a meet and greet with the Script!"

"And how, pray-tell, do you suggest we do that? They're an international rock band; they aren't going to drop everything because we ask them nicely," Neji commented.

"My dad knows their manager," Shikamaru replied, "I can get him to convince them to meet her and then after that, she'll be in a much more forgiving mood." Sasuke and Neji looked at each other for a few seconds before turning back to Shikamaru. Sasuke then reached into his wallet and pulled out a large stack of bills.

"Give them this for a little extra incentive," Sasuke spoke. Shikamaru stared at him, slack-jawed.

"Where- where- where did you get that from?" he finally stuttered out.

"From Sai," Sasuke responded, a sly smirk. Shikamaru chuckled along as he gathered up the money, certain his plan would be successful.

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Ino stood outside her sister's room, gathering her courage for what she was about to do. The beginning of the plan had been laid at her feet. She had to convince her recently extremely reclusive sister to come out of her room and spend the day out, while keeping where they were going, who they were going with, and what they would be doing a secret. It was that crazy amount of pressure that was holding her outside the room.<p>

Taking one final, calming breath, Ino knocked on the door. Several seconds passed with no response, so she knocked again. Once again she got no response. Starting to worry, Ino turned the doorknob and entered the room. Sakura's music was playing softly as the rosette lay sprawled across her bed, soundly asleep. Ino chuckled at the sight and moved towards her sister's dock, an evil plan forming in her mind.

Ino took the volume knob in her hand and, in one swift motion, turned her sister's softly playing music to max volume. Instantly, harsh rock tones blasted throughout the room. Sakura bolted upright, her arms flailing about. After untangling herself from the blankets, Sakura glared at her sister.

"You are so dead!" Sakura jumped out of her bed and began chasing her sister around the room. The rosette finally overtook her sister on her bed and straddled the blonde's stomach, pinning her down. Sakura drew back her hand, and began tickling her twin.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! You win! Please stop before I pee myself," Ino finally forced out after several minutes of tickling. Sakura stopped tickling, but continued sitting on her sister.

"You still owe me for that rude wake up," Sakura retorted. Ino smiled.

"I have just the thing."

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura sat behind the wheel, staring questioningly at her sister. Ino had promised to pay her back for blasting her music so loud that morning. Sakura had been excited when her sister had told her to simply get in the car and rive. Sakura enjoyed her sister's spontaneity. Now, however, Sakura wasn't so sure.<p>

Through nothing more than turn-by-turn directions, Ino had led Sakura to the outskirts of the downtown and told her to stop in front of a non-descript, industrial looking building. Sakura tried to figure out how this building would make up for her rude awakening but was coming up short.

"it's just inside this building here," Ino chirped, unbuckling her seatbelt and making to get out of the car.

"Hold on one moment," Sakura called out, halting her sister, "I'm going to need some information on what is 'just inside this building' before I follow you blindly into it." Sakura knew this hesitancy was out of character, but recent events had made her less willing to simply charge head first into new situations.

Ino was silent for several seconds and Sakura's nerves over the whole situation only grew. Something wasn't sitting right with Sakura. There was a substantial amount of information that she was missing, and it made her feel extremely uneasy. Finally, her sister spoke.

"It's a recording studio. There's been some time booked for you. It was booked before today; it's why I woke you up this morning." Sakura still felt like her sister was hiding something, but she was willing, with the minimal amount of information she had, to get out of her car and enter the building.

When Sakura pushed open the door, her heart skipped a beat and then dropped to the pit of her stomach.

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke stood in the small waiting room of the studio, nervously swinging his arms and hitting his hands in front of him. He could barely contain his swirling thoughts and his heart was trying to escape from within his chest. If Ino and Sakura didn't arrive soon, Sasuke wasn't sure what would be left of him. Luckily, he didn't have to find out.<p>

Sakura pushed open the door to the studio and entered the small waiting area. First, her eyes landed on the trio of men standing off to the right. The minute her eyes took in the sight, they widened to a near comical size and an expression of shock and awe crossed her face. The trio was none other than the three members of her favourite band, The Script. Not believing what she was seeing, Sakura began scanning the rest of the room for some context and information. She quickly spotted Sasuke and her expression changed immediately.

"What is going on?" she asked, staring at him. There was still some of her previous awe in her voice, but it was mostly full of contempt. It was obvious she hadn't forgiven him in the slightest.

"I messed up, big time. I was stupid to agree to be paid to take you out. When I initially agreed to it, I didn't know you, didn't care about you. I was thinking about myself, and getting money to take someone out sounded like an easy way to earn some cash. However, after I got to know you, the money was no longer important. I wasn't spending time with you because I was being paid; I was doing it because I wanted to. The money simply became a bonus.

"In fact, for the past two months, I've just kept it in my sock drawer and not given it any thought. I know I'm going to have to do a lot to convince you that the money was not important, and I figure I'll start here with this apology. All the money I've 'earned' from Sai has been spent on this once in a lifetime experience. I hope it can be a start in forgiving me for all I've done."

Sasuke finished his speech, surprised that Sakura had allowed him to say it all without interrupting. Having said his piece, he stared at Sakura waiting for her response to all that he'd said. She didn't say anything for several painful seconds, obviously mulling over everything that had just been said.

"And what, pray tell, is this 'once in a lifetime experience'?" She finally spoke. It wasn't what Sasuke had been hoping for, but at least she hadn't turned on her heel and stormed out.

"I think I can answer that," Danny, the lead singer of the band, responded, "Your fellow here had arranged for you to record a few songs with us."

* * *

><p>Sarutobi Sakura felt the solid ground slip from beneath her feet. The next thing she knew, she was wrapped tightly in Sasuke's arms, staring up at the ceiling. At the news that her biggest dream was about to come true, she had fainted. As she lay in Sasuke's arms, trying to regain her composure, Sakura made a decision.<p>

In order for Sasuke to even think of pulling this off he had to know her well and be willing to sacrifice for her. Those thoughts ran through her head as she took in everything that was going on and contributed to her decision that she would, eventually, forgive Sasuke. But first she'd make him work for it.

Sakura then stood up, out of Sasuke's arms and followed Danny, Mark, and Glen into the studio.

_-The End-_

_**A/N:**__ And so it ends! Hope you enjoyed this story! Review and let me know what you thought!_


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